Fate, Stay Ranma
by Bean Bandit
Summary: Nerima, Tokyo. Coming to the Tendo Dojo to unite the schools of Anything Goes Martial Arts is all well and good, but Saotome Ranma has other concerns-Jusenkyo made him into a girl, but not just any girl. Not only that, but she's not quite dead yet...
1. Prologue

A traditional styled living room. Nerima-ward, Tokyo, Japan.

A father stood, tall and proud, arms folded as he faced out doorway leading into the spacious grounds, overlooking the training hall in his family's martial arts style and koi pond from the open door of said living room.

His three daughters, seated demurely and expectantly, hanging on his every word describing an event that could change their lives.

"I don't know."

Stunned looks from the girls, the youngest already angry. "You don't know who you've engaged us to??"

"I've never met him." The follow up statement only made it worse. Even the middle daughter, formerly the most enthusiastic about the arrangement was now looking at the father in disbelief. The youngest looked away in disgust.

_I don't believe this. _

There was a long, pregnant pause, the three girls staring at their father as though attempting to spontaneously develop telepathic abilities and force Soun Tendo to see reason. Or, in the case of the youngest, wishing very hard for him to drop dead seemed much more likely.

***Ding-Dong***

A fish jumped from the koi pond as the doorbell rang.

---

We've heard it, or variations on it, a million times before.

Think you know how it goes?

Think again.

--

The sound of the bell stirred the Tendo family to action. Kasumi, the eldest, rose gracefully on cue.

"We have guests." She observed, wryly. Her father leapt ahead of her, all excitement and energy, like a child on Christmas, a liveliness to the middle aged man his daughters had not seen in many years.

"Genma! My friend! It's been so long!" he said, delightedly, rushing to the door.

"Ooh! That must be Ranma." Nabiki, despited being elegantly dressed in a formal kimono, rose to her feet in a flash and hurried after her father. Kasumi was considerably less energetic, but more dignified than her father and sister, and Akane, the youngest, was flat out reluctant, they walked behind the others to the door.

"I do hope he's older. Younger men are so...young." Kasumi commented about their intended fiance to Akane privately. Whatever Akane might have said in return died stillborn on her lips as an unusual exclamation from outside brought all of the Tendos up short, freezing them in their tracks.

"_**Defenser!"**_

The declaration was authoritative and baritone, and immediately coupled with a flash of light visible even from behind the door, and a crash.

"Stupid old fool, I told you to quit trying t' steal Bardiche..." Another voice, soft and feminine, entirely at odds with the rough, masculine speech it was using, carried through the sudden silence. "Well, it looks like he's out cold, I bet we could run off before they get to the door..."

A silence followed. Although the eavesdropping family heard nothing, the next response went on as though someone had replied to the unseen girl, and they were listening in on half of a telephone conversation.

"Do I hafta?"

More silence.

"Fine, fine! I get it already! We have to apologize in person." She sounded reluctant. "Are you sure, though? What if we run out of time to..."

Again, silence.

"Right, I gotcha. At least we can get some hot water here, maybe?"

The Tendos exchanged puzzled looks, the curiosity of what was happening just past their door overriding the rather thick and unpleasant tension of the abruptly announced engagement. Finally, when the eldest girl decided there would be no more to overhear, she opened the door cautiously, and the sight that greeted the eyes of the collective Tendo family was...'odd', to say the least.

A young girl, round about fifteen years of age, with long, LONG blonde hair, and sad, red-brown eyes dressed in a red Chinese top, black pants and slippers looked up at them. In the background, an unconscious, smoking panda lay prone on the ground. The blonde girl smiled nervously and waved at the collective family. "Hey. I'm Ranma Saotome. Sorry 'bout this...but can we talk?"

Akane was the first to recover, stepping forward, wide eyed. "You're a girl?"She asked the blonde.

Ranma winced. "Look, about that..."

Nabiki rolled her eyes. "Geez, Akane. What gave it away? Her chest?" Ranma's eyes tripled in size as Nabiki stepped forward and gently cupped the soft swelling pushing out at the front of the crimson kung-fu tunic. Nabiki's eyebrows rose sharply, and she brushed a lock of hair back over her ear as she leaned down a little and turned her full attention to fondling the newcomer's breasts through her top. "Damn. They're as soft as marshmallows, and perky-"

Ranma flailed a little, her cheeks burning and her eyes beginning to cross as a sudden wash of sensation began heating her up from inside. "H-Hey~! C'ja stop that??" She demanded, somewhat less convincingly than one might expect. This was entirely too much for Soun, who, upon discovering the long awaited Ranma was actually female, and being treated to watching his middle daughter molest said female, fainted dead away.

Bean Bandit Presents:

A Bean Bandit Fan fiction:

Fate, Stay Ranma

The entire situation with this 'Tendo' guy his pops had trained with could not be described in any remotely accurate way without involving the word 'cluster', Ranma thought. It had gotten off to a bad start, with the middle girl fondling his boobs (Bad might have been the wrong word for that, but it was definitely embarrassing.) and only gotten worse as he had tried to explain the curse.

He couldn't tell what Nabiki was thinking now, and the youngest, almost friendly at first, had turned icy toward him as he'd poured the hot water over his head and returned to male form. With that demonstrated, they'd done the same to the panda, and on becoming human again, the old man had woken up and tried to to get involved. Then the girl's dad had woken up, too, and they had made an official, joint announcement about the engagement. Everyone had immediately protested, and it had devolved into a loud shouting match that he had finally decided to deal with the only way he knew how, by tuning his father out. The only good thing about the situation was that he was finally male again.

Oh dear, they're celebrating the engagement again, Fate sighed. Ranma glanced at her. The blonde doppleganger for his cursed form that only he could see gestured quickly to remind him not to look at her too obviously. Ranma-kun, be more careful. They've already started looking at you strangely, and you want to get them on your side. I think their father might be a lost cause, though.

Ranma nodded rueful agreement, managing to avoid talking back to his companion, though he desperately wanted to. Things had gotten awfully complicated lately, but he was extremely grateful to have a friend to talk to, even if no one else could see her. Unfortunately, nodding at what was thin air to other people was the wrong thing to do if one wasn't paying attention to an ongoing discussion about your future martial status.

"See? He agrees to the engagement!" Soun exclaimed joyfully, and the youngest girl, Akane, shot him a poisonous look.

Ranma twitched violently, turning his attention back to the argument in progress. "Wait, what?? Hold on a second, I didn't agree to nothing!" Ranma insisted desperately, a suddenly adrenaline rush hitting him as he started paying more attention several minutes too late.

"Pervert." Akane accused.

"You just nodded when Daddy asked you to pick which one of us you wanted, Saotome." Nabiki chimed in. Her eyes were hooded, but you didn't have to be perceptive to pick up the malice in her look. Genma, off to Soun's side, nodded sagely.

"Who'd wanna-" Ranma began angrily, but abruptly, Fate moved into his field of vision and waved her hands sharply.

Ranma-kun, STOP. This isn't a fight! You can't get yourself heard by overpowering them, and getting angry isn't going to help.

"'Who'd wanna' what, Saotome?" Nabiki asked, coughing a little to try and get his attention as everyone was staring at him after pausing.

Apologize. Fate suggested. They don't cost you anything, and it might soften them up a little. Then explain yourself, calmly and reasonably.

Ranma grimaced and flushed, taking a deep breath and rubbing the back of his head nervously-he hated dealing with people by talking even more now that Fate had explained some social things to him. "Sorry. I was gettin' frustrated, and takin' it out on you. No offense and all, but I don't want to get married."

That set off pandemonium again as Soun and Genma both spoke at once.

"You MUST!" "Boy, it is a matter of family honor-!"

"Shut UP!" Ranma exclaimed vehemently, glaring daggers at the two men. "I'm only freaking sixteen! I got training to do! I life to live! And, in case you hadn't noticed, training in China cost me my freaking manhood! Are ya telling me this couldn't have waited until my life was straightened out?"

"He has a point, Daddy." Nabiki chipped in, giving Ranma a grudging nod. "We have lives to live, too. And that contract says that you only need to join the families. That could theoretically wait until our children are born, and we could arrange for them to marry."

Akane was still glaring at Ranma, but she couldn't help joining in. "Yeah! We don't even know him, and you want us engaged to this pervert on the first day?"

"I'm NOT A PERV-" Ranma began to insist hotly, but Fate patted him lightly. Pick your battles, Ranma-kun. Getting distracted could cost you the bigger argument. Ranma sighed and relented, giving up on arguing with Akane. "Fine. Yeah. She's right." He grumbled.

Kasumi nodded. "I must agree, father...this is all such a rush...is there something that you're hiding?" That managed to rattle the older men's cages, and Soun in particular looked rather flustered.

"N-Not at all! How could you think such a thing about your dear father! I only want what's best-"He gibbered, his eyes welling up. Genma placed a firm hand on the mustachioed man's shoulder.

"Girls, You have to trust we know what's best for you, and-"

"No, we really don't." Nabiki frowned. "But I propose a compromise. If you push this, we'll fight you every inch of the way. If you lighten up a bit, we promise to give getting to know him a fair shot."

"Wait, what?" Ranma interrupted, surprised and unhappy at this turn of events. "We need to get them to call this off, not put up with it!"

"They can make more trouble than will be fun to deal with, unless you want to apply for emancipation from your guardian." Nabiki pointed out, giving Ranma a severe look. "And my legal help doesn't come cheap."

Ranma gave Fate a helpless look, and Fate smiled sadly, shrugging her shoulders. She's right. Until you're eighteen, he can make things unpleasant. If you stand with the girls, you can watch out for each other.

"But what about you?" Ranma asked, concern coloring his voice.

"Who are you talking to, Saotome?" Nabiki inquired sharply, and Ranma realized he'd done it again. His father and the Tendos were staring at him as though he'd grown a third head.

"Um...Um..." Ranma stammered, flustered and scrambling around for something, anything to excuse his odd behavior.

Say 'you' Fate prompted.

"You." Ranma echoed quickly, relieved to have someone thinking quickly with him.

"What about me?" Nabiki challenged.

"You must have boyfriends or something that this will upset." Fate offered, and Ranma relayed her suggestion gratefully. The brunette looked briefly taken aback.

"Not so much." Nabiki admitted casually after a moment of surprised silence. "But it was nice of you to think of that, since Daddy clearly didn't." She added, her expression softening enough to give him a polite smile, and her father a venomous look, which he cringed back from. Hastily, Genma and Soun Huddled together, conferring back and forth rapidly. Finally, they broke, and presented a united front.

"Nabiki, we've decided your proposal is acceptable...provided at all of you make at least one effort at a proper date." Soun declared grandly. Ranma didn't much care for that, or the suspicious expression on his father's face, but with a warning look from Fate, he kept his mouth shut.

"Wait a minute-" Akane began angrily, but Nabiki shushed her with a wave.

"Quiet, Akane!" She snapped, then smiled brightly at her father. "Deal. Draw up the papers, Daddy, and we'll sign."

Even Fate boggled a little a that.

--

Later on, Ranma sat out on the porch alone, looking over at Fate, and running his thumb thoughtfully over the yellow medallion he'd discovered in China at the bottom of that spring-had it really only been a few months since then?

"I still don't like it. We need to get moving-you said yourself we don't know how long Bardiche can keep you like this..." He muttered.

Fate smiled softly. "I'm happy you're worried about me, Ranma-kun, but it's all right. We need to have somewhere to stay while we look for help, and this is less expensive than an inn, and safer than being on the road. Besides, you need some more friends. You've been alone for too long."

Ranma shrugged awkwardly. "Still doesn't mean I don't want to help. And if they can cure me and save you, then it's even more important to find them. What'd you say this friend of yours that could help was named?"

Fate blushed softly, looking out into the night sky, memories of a simpler, happier time before her 'death' flashing before her eyes. "Nanoha. Takamichi Nanoha."


	2. Chapter 1 In Which our Hero

Geez. I didn't really expect to go any farther than the Prologue, but here it is. I had thought of making it much longer, but I came to a cliffhanger point that seemed to be good enough to get an opinion or two on how things are shaping up so far.

Note: After Reading Contrabardus' notes after one of his fics, I realized he had a point about speech, so I dumped Fate's '' speech, and switched to normal quotes.

The Standard Disclaimers apply.

***

**Fate/Stay Ranma – Chapter One**

_In Which Our Hero And His Companion Are Introduced To Nerima._

Morning came, as morning is wont to do, following a very restless night. As the first rays of dawn crept over the cityscape and entered the suburbs, Ranma Saotome found himself stirring awake. This was unusual for him, given that he customarily slept on hard ground, and under the stars. Given the relative luxury of sleeping indoors, and on a rather nice futon, he expected to have been out cold for several more hours.  
However, finally having a long talk with Fate about what they needed to do, and getting his unusual companion to open up about the people they needed to seek out to try and help free her from the jewellry he'd found at the bottom of that damned spring that had stolen her life and cursed him to be her twin had made him anxious to get busy.

He liked Fate, a lot. They had been travelling together for a short time, really, but she was with him constantly. It was a neat feeling to have someone to talk to whenever things were going wrong. Being about his age, he felt close to her after she'd told him stories about her childhood, when he was depressed about his own. She'd definitely had it worse than him, but he understood the feelings of being frustrated and tormented without understanding exactly why. They were cut from the same cloth. He even managed to feel a bit lucky that the old man was only stupid, and not evil, like Precia Testarossa had been.

Her adoptive mother, Lindy, sounded a lot nicer, and she made him wonder what his own mother must have been like before she died. They talked a lot about her, and her brother, Chrono (Ranma still had a hard time with the weird names, but they were from another planet, so it was to be expected.) and Ranma had found himself thinking a lot about them, and Fate.

The more he thought about it, the more it bothered him that they weren't already out there looking. He couldn't imagine what it must be like for a close family like that to suddenly lose someone as nice as Fate was. Then again, How long had it even been since Fate fell into the spring? He had no clue. Other than that she didn't seem too 'old', culturally. So her family was probably still alive. He was glad. Finding out her family had died while she was trapped would have been monstrously unjust. He wanted them to be happy and together again. For Fate's sake, of course. It didn't hurt that they were probably his best lead for a cure to his own curse as well, though. Sighing softly, Ranma rolled to his feet, stretching and looking around the unfamiliar room. The Panda was in the corner, rumbling and snorting quietly in it's sleep, drawing an eye roll from the teenage martial artist. At the sudden movement, Bardiche warmed in his hand, and abruptly, Fate appeared, looking disoriented and distressed.

"Hiya." Ranma whispered, to keep from waking his father, grabbing a handful of clothes and dressing quickly, prompting a blush and a sharp about face from the blonde girl. Finishing quickly, he snuck out into the hall, Fate following embarrassedly.

"Don't do that~" She complained mildly as she followed him out.

"Do what?" Ranma replied, puzzled, lifting his tone to normal levels as he closed the door.

"Change in front of me!" She insisted, pouting. Ranma's face turned red.

"Whaddya mean? I was wearing boxers, it wasn't like I flashed you or nothing!" he complained as they moved down the stairs.

"It's still...It's still embarrassing to do that without a warning! How would you like it if I did this?" She insisted mildly, and began to unbutton her blouse, her face reddening.

"Gah~!" Ranma exclaimed, covering his eyes and tripping on the final step, flailing to regain his balance. "Don't do that! I'm sorry already! I'll warn you next time!"

Fate giggled softly, a gentle sound like chimes. "Thank you." She told him kindly, relenting. "That's all I ask." She was still blushing despite it all as she closed her blouse.

Ranma sulked a moment, but he couldn't keep back a smile at the sound of her laughing. It didn't happen very often. He moved quietly through the house and to the patio door to the living room, sliding it open and stepping out into the yard. Fate moved along beside him, and they walked in companionable silence for a moment. "Ya looked kinda upset when you woke up." he noted.

She folded her hands and rubbed them together nervously. "Sleeping is different now. It's like being shut off, and you don't know when someone will turn you on again. It feels almost exactly like it did when I was knocked into that spring."

He winced at that, exploring the yard, and eyeing the koi pond warily as he made a circuit around it, carefully keeping his distance. "Y'know, you don't have to sleep, do you? Couldn't you just stay on all the time?"

"Well, I don't get tired." Fate agreed, following him as he began heading toward the training hall behind the house for a proper look. "But I worry about straining Bardiche too much. I don't know how he's supporting me...I've never heard of anything like this. If we overwork him, we might both die..."

Ranma cringed again. "Yikes. No one wants that. Well...I guess you'd know best. Just let me know if I can help anyhow." He suggested, sliding open the doors and stepping inside.

Fate was thoughtful for a moment. "Ahm...there is something that might help..." She ventured uncertainly.

Ranma started, pausing mid step as he looked back at her sharply. "Yeah? Like what?"

"I'm not sure how much it'll help, but if you link with Bardiche and train in magic, like I did, he can draw on your linker core to support me..." She suggested, pushing her index fingers together, dropping her chin to look up at him hopefully, with the most earnest puppydog eyes Ranma had ever personally seen.

Ranma almost caved right then and there, but Fate's coaching him over the last little while had taught him a thing or two about diving in head first ALL the time. "Linker Core?" he asked, probing for more information.

"Think of it like your chi, but for magic, not fighting. Though, you can use it for fighting, too."

"Wasn't I already using magic? The 'defenser' thing that keeps pops from taking him from me...?"

"That's more his doing than yours...he draws a little power from you to activate it, but he can't do much more than that until you learn to use him properly."

"Hmm...If you can use it to fight, I guess it might be useful when we get you out of him and back in your own body..." Ranma mused.

"If we do." Fate sighed, her face falling a little.

"Uh-uh. When." Ranma insisted stubbornly. "I don't care what it takes. I ain't gonna let you rot in there. We're gonna find this Nanoha, and you're gonna be fine. You'll see."

She managed a smile at that. "I hope you're right." She allowed. She sat on the floor, and Ranma wondered briefly how she didn't fall through, or managed to sit at all. She folded her legs up underneath herself and looked up at him.

Ranma looked down at her pensively. Why did she seem so small when she was sad? He really hated it. She was gentle and kind, and she didn't She'd never been as bubbly and lively as some girls, but she had been seeming more and more down the longer it'd been since he woke her up. "C'mon, Fate-chan." He prompted. "Do this Kata with me, and tell me about magic."

"Eh?" Fate looked up at Ranma wide eyed, and he gave her a confident, cocky smirk.

"Even if ya got no body, exercise'll do ya good. Keeps the mind going."

"But I've never really tried barehanded-"

"Then it's about time ya learned. C'mon." He reached out a hand to her, smiling, and finally, Fate's lips curved up in a tiny smile.

"Hai." She agreed finally, taking his hand. Ranma couldn't feel it, not quite, but he could see it properly as she rose to her feet.

"Atta girl." He encouraged. "Now, first off, stand like this..."

**

The receiver for the microphone in the dojo placed to overhear the contents of Akane's rants to properly set the betting pools at school was old and battered, and the sound quality was terrible, but every word was clearly audible.

"...Then it's about time you learned. C'mon." The silence in response was deafening. "Atta girl. Now, first off, stand like this..."

Nabiki switched off the receiver, running her hand through her tousled morning hair and flopping back down onto her bed to get more rest before her alarm went off, though she had a feeling sleep wouldn't be coming easily.

"My god, Daddy's engaged us to a nutcase..."

**

The birds in Nerima were chirping, the sun was shining-all in all, it was an excellent morning for a jog, and Akane was in a pretty good mood, all things considered, as she turned the corner, slowing to a stop and opening the gate to reenter her home. Last night had been terrible, but it really could have been worse-the pervert hadn't made his move yet, so...

Wait, did that mean she had to be on guard? What if he was lulling her into a false sense of security-

The sound of kiai and crashing fists and feet overlaying such grim thoughts made her nearly jump out of her skin, scrambling back until she was outside the gate, wide eyed.

"What the HELL is wrong with them?!"

**

"You're WEAK, Ranma!"

The descriptor was harshly spat out by the rotund man in the dirty white gi as he moved through a flying stamp kick at his son, followed by a foot sweep and a roundhouse punch, all of which failed to connect with the rapidly dodging boy. As accuracy went, it was less than adequate, considering the stunning agility the boy displayed, ducking the flying kick by bending nearly in half, then leaping over the foot sweep, and blocking the the punch solidly.

"Weak??" he cried indignantly, moving onto the offensive with a flurry of blows. "Whaddya mean, weak-"

"Ranma-kun, look out~!" Fate cried in warning.

Ranma jerked involuntarily, and spotted the blow coming in low and twisting to avoid it-unfortunately, his reaction speed worked against him as he threw himself off balance, and Genma's meaty hand snared a fistful of Ranma's shirt, and the boy swore vociferously as he sailed squarely into the koi pond, and the change gripped him.

"Weak." Genma replied calmly, hands on his hips. "We're going to step up your training-"

From the house, Nabiki walked past, disheveled and half asleep, but dressed and ready, more or less. "If you kill our fish, you -will- pay for it." She called irritably before heading into the kitchen where Kasumi was to help her bring out the breakfast dishes.

Genma flinched. "Now, wait a minute-" He began, and abruptly, he noted Ranma was no longer in the pond, and-

Without any warning, he was hit by a spray of cold, soapy water, and the contact inflated him into the enormous proportions of the giant panda. He jerked, shuffling back into a ready position, but it was too late. Ranma gleefully reappeared behind her father, swinging a large washbasin with all her might, connecting solidly with Genma's skull. The resounding 'Wang!' ringing from the metal echoed into the house.

"*." Observed Genma sagely as his vision went dark and he toppled into the pond.

Ranma tossed her blond hair over her shoulder, grinning as the cold water revived the animal and he sputtered to the surface. "Now who's weak?" She crowed.

"How can you do that to your own father??"

Ranma blinked and looked to the house at Akane who was staring in shock at the blonde girl. "Eh? What's wrong with that?" She wanted to know, trotting over to the house to speak with the other girl now that the morning sparring had concluded. "He's done the same to me lots of times..."

"...Hit you on the head with a metal washbasin?" Akane challenged dubiously.

"Well, no. It was a rotten log last time-" Ranma made a face. "I had to wash for hours-it was filled with bugs..."

"Don't forget that bamboo chair after the noodle incident." Fate reminded, moving up to join her twin.

"Yeah, breaking a chair over my head for that wasn't fair." Ranma agreed, sulking. "Especially since he couldn't prove anything."

Akane stared.

"Akane, Ranma, Mister Saotome...Time for breakfast!" Came Kasumi's voice from the kitchen, and Ranma gleefully entered the house in a swirl of long blonde hair, conversation forgotten at the prospect of food.

She was still standing there as the giant panda waddled past, 'growf'ing at her in a polite greeting and bowing, and she stayed there for a few moments after.

"They're insane..."

**

After breakfast, and once he was again male, a kink in Ranma's plans to begin the search for Fate's friend and family was introduced as Ranma was informed in no uncertain terms that he would be attending school with Akane and Nabiki. Naturally, he handled such news with the grace and tact for which he was famous. Insomuch as kicking his father bodily into the koi pond, and being about to start on Soun could be called graceful and tactful. However, at this point, Fate intervened, and persuaded Ranma to go along with it for now. There might be an opening to start inquiries, and even if there wasn't, they could get some work done afterwards.

Grudgingly, Ranma agreed, and he found himself and Akane propelled out the door to join Nabiki as they walked to school. Generally out of sorts, Ranma hopped up on the fence, strolling along as though on a tightrope. Nabiki raised her eyebrows at this. Aside from the narrow venue, Ranma looked for all the world as though he was casually strolling down a wide, stable street.

Akane was less impressed, and more offended. "What are you doing -now-?!" She demanded, her knuckles whitening on her bag.

"Akane, you really need to lighten up. You're going to get an ulcer before you're twenty at this rate." Nabiki commented mildly. She glanced up at the boy on the fence and "Still, she's not wrong-can't you fool around later?"

"I'm not fooling around, it's balance training." Ranma shrugged, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"You just spent all morning training!" Akane snapped, irritated.

"And wasting hot water." Nabiki chimed in. Akane gave her sister an irritated look and Nabiki smiled innocently and shrugged. "Just saying. It costs a lot, you know?"

"Whatever." She sniffed. "When we get to school, we don't know each other, got it?" Akane punctuated the statement with a hard look at the boy.

"Fine by me." He replied unconcernedly. "Tomboys aren't exactly my idea of fun company-"

Fate, who had been listening quietly up to this point, slapped her hand over her face from her position behind him. "Oh -Ranma-"

Ranma blinked, looking at Fate for a brief instant before Akane took a swipe at the fence. He jumped, landing back on the metal railing that looked slightly less square than it had when he left it, and gave Akane an indignant look. "What the heck was that for??"

Fate had her head in her hands, and Nabiki did as well, only the older girl was covering her mouth, trying to stifle a laugh, but her shoulders were shaking.

"You...you JERK~!" Akane screamed, red faced. She stormed off, leaving Ranma, Nabiki and Fate staring after her in surprise.

Ranma was the first to break the silence, hopping off of the fence and onto the ground beside Nabiki. "Seriously, what was that about?"

"I wouldn't worry about it." Nabiki assured him as she wrestled her amusement under control. "Akane's not really used to dealing with boys that aren't hitting on her. In more than one sense of the word. She's developed kind of an ego."

"Hm, she's got a lot in common with someone, ne, Ranma-kun?" Fate observed gently.

Ranma winced at Fate's comment, rubbing at his chin uncomfortably. "I just wish I knew why she's so-" A cascade of cold water interrupted his partly formed thought, drenching his clothes and shifting him back into a girl. "Aw, MAAAN~" Ranma whined, pushing wet hair out of her eyes. She glared in the direction of the water, and found a wrinkled old woman standing there, looking at Ranma in confusion, paused mid-throw with a small ladle and a bucket, in the act of washing her sidewalk. "You gotta be kidding me."

Fate winced in sympathy for the boy, looking at the old woman in surprise. "Jusenkyo really is kind of strange to find such creative ways to activate." She murmured softly. "I've never seen anyone do this before."

Nabiki was smiling, looking at Ranma thoughtfully. "You are going to be terribly interesting to have around, Saotome. C'mon, I know where we can get some hot water. No charge, this time."

Ranma sighed. "You shouldn't bother." She grumbled, cinching her pants a little tighter over her newly feminine waist to keep them from falling down.

"Going to attend school as a girl?" The middle Tendo asked curiously, her eyes roaming the full length of Ranma's form, lingering on her hips, bust and hair. "That'll be even more interesting. You're pretty cute, and you've got a nice body...You'll give Akane a run for her money-"

"I didn't mean that!" Ranma insisted, blushing darkly to match Fate, who had also blushed rather prettily at Nabiki's frank assessment of her (by proxy) looks. "I'll skip school. I've got more important things to do, anyway."

"Such as?"

"I gotta find someone." Ranma replied. "It's important to get a hold of her quickly, and I can't do it if I'm in school all day, anyway."

"Really?" Nabiki asked, her eyes lighting up. "I can help you there."

"Ya can?" Ranma blinked, startled.

"Really??" Fate asked hopefully, even though she knew Nabiki couldn't see her. It was almost physically painful for Ranma to see how suddenly happy she looked. There was something about Nabiki that made Ranma wary, but after that look, how could he turn the brunette girl down?

"Yep." Nabiki nodded smugly. "Not for free, though." She held up a hand to forestall the Ranma's objection as the blonde girl opened her mouth indignantly. "Yes, I guessed you haven't got any money. I'll just ask for a few favors now and then, okay?"

Ranma frowned, putting her hands on her hips. She looked over at Fate, who was now giving her puppydog eyes again. _Man, what about all that stuff you said I should do before I jump inta something, Fate? _She sighed. _I guess if it was me looking for my mom or something, I wouldn't really be thinking about questions, though. _"You promise?" She asked dubiously. "This is real important, and I can't waste time..."

"I promise." Nabiki assured Ranma, holding out her hand for the boy-turned-girl to shake. "I'll find whoever it is you're looking for, if you'll work for me for a bit. Deal?"

Ranma hesitated, looking to Fate. Her blonde twin looked back at her, hands clasped together. "Please." She asked, softly.

Ranma hung her head. "Deal." She murmured, reaching out and clasping Nabiki's hand, blushing a little as the older girl's fingers closed around her own and shook it surprisingly firmly. She reciprocated tentatively, careful not to shake too hard. _Warm._ "Please don't make me regret this."

"Don't worry." Nabiki smiled at the blonde girl, the wheels already turning in her head how to make the best use of her newest employee, her eyebrows rising as she noted the cute blonde girl's pink cheeks. _Hmm, I wondered. So there IS a libido in there after all._ "There's no money in abusing the people who work for you. Trust me, okay?" She winked, and Ranma blushed again.

"Right, right." Was all she would say on the matter. _What choice do I have, now? _

It was a quick jaunt to the local chiropractic clinic to get hot water, and Nabiki introduced Ranma to the doctor, a youngish man called Tofu. Aside from scaring the daylights out of Ranma with a phony skeleton (Named 'Betty'), He seemed a nice guy enough guy. The fact that Ranma switched sexes seemed only a minor curiousity to him, and not making a big deal out of it went a long way to put the kindly doctor in Ranma's good books. Especially after the skeleton thing. Nabiki had smirked at him again when he'd had to let go of the ceiling to get the water, and the pretty brunette could pack more amusement into one smirk than most people could jam into full on belly laughs. Fortunately, the delay was only minor, though, and soon, Ranma was a pigtailed boy again, and they were off on their way to school. Up ahead, they saw Akane, standing in the school gates and looking around, utterly befuddled.

"Akane-san looks confused. Is something wrong?" Fate mused quietly. The question seemed a good one to Ranma, so he relayed it to Nabiki, who grinned.

"She hasn't figured out she's about half an hour earlier than she usually is, since you two left with me. I give it about until the moment we join her for her morning appointment to figure out she's there." The older girl explained, sighing softly. "Although, if she just thought for a moment, she'd hurry inside right now. I think she likes this, as much as she complains about it." She added, shaking her head.

"'This'?" Ranma echoed, growing more and more confused, his gaze staying steady on the Akane as they finally reached the gate...and the moment they did, Nabiki's prediction came true.

"AKANE TENDO, TASTE OUR LOVE FOR YOU!" Someone Ranma couldn't see, a male, bellowed, when all at once, a horde of boys began pouring out of the woodwork. Some were martial artists, and some were the more garden variety jocks, and some were even dancers, chemists, and other things. The motley crew were of varying levels of physical fitness, but they moved with stunning co-ordination.

They assaulted Akane almost as a single unit, and Ranma found himself tensing as he watched the spectacle in disbelief. Beside him, Fate gasped in shock. "And this happens -every- morning?"

Akane ducked under a punch from a karateka, pivoting into a roundhouse kick that caught a hockey player in the jaw, and snatching his stick as he stumbled away, she broke it over the karateka's head.

"Not bad." Ranma observed. "She telegraphed that shot, though."

Finishing with the stick, she tossed it aside, dropping under a thrown baseball, then moving into a vault over a charging sumo wrestler's head, swinging herself, feet-first into a boy dressed in a flamenco outfit. He went down, hard.

"Seriously? This school has a sumo club?" Ranma boggled, looking at Nabiki.

"I'm reconsidering my suggestion that you go along with school." Fate murmured in a small voice, watching Akane's brawl with horrified fascination.

Nabiki blinked at what Ranma had focused on, smiling faintly. "That's not even close to the weirdest club our school has." She informed him.

Akane landed lightly, and threw a punch at a boy using rather amateurish Muay Tai, and Ranma could hear tendons snapping as his ineffectual block met her fist, hard enough to shatter concrete. He winced a little as he turned his attention back to the fight. The baseball player followed up with a swing from his bat, but Akane closed the distance between them, nullifying the added force from the bat, and absorbing the blow with his hands and the handle of the bat with her shoulder, and drove her palm into his chin, sending him to dreamland. From there, she twisted, slamming a mule kick into the sternum of the boy dressed in full Shinobi regalia stalking her from behind...

From then on, Akane mopped of the rest of the brigade rather easily, none of the others mounting significant resistance. A little less than three minutes later, and Akane was standing in the middle of the courtyard, breathing heavily, and glaring around herself at the fallen bodies of the boys that had fought to win a date.

"She's really good." Fate murmured. "I think Miyuki would like her."

"Who's Miyuki?" Ranma wanted to know.

"Miyuki?"

Fate and Ranma both stiffened, the latter realizing his mistake, and the former hit by a sudden spike of fear that the hope Nabiki had engendered by offering them help in exchange for their (Ranma's, really) help would be suddenly extinguished.

Nabiki was giving Ranma an intent look, her smoky brown eyes almost stabbing him with her gaze. "You keep talking to thin air." She pointed out.

"...Ah, lots of people talk to themselves..." Ranma began unconvincingly which is to say he was shifting back and forth nervously, examining his hands as if they were utterly fascinating, and refusing to meet Nabiki's gaze. If there was a textbook for picking out liars, Ranma's picture would be in there.

"Not like this, they don't." Nabiki insisted. "You're having entire conversations with someone I can't hear or see. And they talk back, judging by your responses. And you're coming up with words and names you haven't mentioned any other time. Either you're creative as hell, and screwing with me, which I doubt, unless you found the microphones in the dojo, or you're actually talking to someone, or you're full blown nuts. This morning, I was convinced you were nuts. The more I listen to you, the less I'm sure of that. What's -with- you, Saotome?"

_ Oh, -crap-. __Who the hell puts m__icrophones in the dojo? _Ranma began to sweat, heavily, looking nervously at Fate, who could only shrug helplessly. "Ahaha...Nothing. Nothing at all! Maybe I am kinda crazy!" He blurted anxiously, looking left and right. "Crazy about school! C'mon, let's get yer sister and get inside!" He urged, and made a beeline for Akane, fleeing Nabiki's curiosity.

Nabiki smirked slightly. Ranma was an absolutely miserable liar. In fact, there were no words for how bad he was at it. It was almost epic, in a way. And disappointing in another. He wasn't going to be much of a challenge to mess with. Not to mention that she was more convinced than ever something was going on. All she had to do was wring the truth out of him. And that was something she was very, very good at.

Ranma hurried up to Akane, trying not to seem like he was hiding behind her, which he of course was. "Hey, that wasn't bad, you know?" He greeted, bouncing nervously on the balls of his feet. "You get along with all the guys like this?"

"Shh!" Akane hadn't relaxed out of her battle stance, and a moment later, Ranma found out why. A blur of motion and a startled exclamation from Fate was all he needed, though-on pure reflex, his hand snapped out and snagged an incoming projectile-

"Ow!" He yelped, grimacing as he let go, but the object stuck to his hand. Gingerly, he pulled the rose's thorns out of the skin of his hand, examining the flower disbelievingly.

"-Tuxedo Kamen?" Fate suggested, staring at the rose.

"...A rose? Who throws a ROSE? Honestly..." Ranma asked in disbelief, looking in the direction of the thrower, and making a disgusted face as a tall, foppishly handsome boy with an immaculate coif of dark brown hair stepped out from behind a tree. He was dressed in a dark blue gi and hakama, and glaring daggers at Ranma. Ranma grimaced. "Dude, I'm flattered an' all, but I definitely don't swing that way." he tried, flipping the rose back to him.

"Oh no..." Nabiki sighed quietly from behind Akane and Fate, having joined the girls while Ranma was discovering the flower. Ranma was no good to her injured...

The boy caught the rose, fury blazing into his eyes. "That was meant for Akane Tendo, fool! Who are you that you speak so familiarly with the idol of the school?"

"Well, I'm-" Ranma blinked as the boy cut him off.

"-But wait. Is it not the custom to give one's own name first? Very well then, Mine I shall give...I am the collossus astride the High School Kendo world. A God among men, Oft known as the Blue Thunder! Tatewaki Kuno, Age seventeen." As if on cue, the sky rumbled behind him, and Ranma felt a sudden warmth from his pocket where he kept Bardiche.

At the same instant, behind him, Fate let out a sudden cry, and Ranma's attention was torn from Kuno as he looked to find his companion-and found nothing.

Fate had vanished.

"Fate-chan-!" A fist made of coldest ice gripped Ranma's spine, and he felt the blood rushing away from his face as he looked about, hoping Fate would reappear-and having that hope dashed as the air was quiet, and missing the familiar face. He whirled to face Kuno, his expression deadly serious now, so much so that the older boy was taken aback. "What. Did. You. DO??"

Kuno took a startled step backward, though he raised his sword defensively. "I know not of what you speak, knave, I have merely introduced myself, something you have yet to-"

"My name is Ranma Saotome," Ranma interrupted grimly. His hands clenched into fists, the knuckles going white before he forced himself to loosen them, taking a loose-limbed stance for speed. "...Of the Saotome School of anything goes Martial Arts. And I'm going to make you regret that."

**

Author's notes: Well, What do you think? I didn't think I'd get much further than the prologue, but I guess all the reviews spurred me on to write more.

Also, for all you who went 'Nodoka isn't dead' in the first scene...Ranma thinks she is, that's all.

If you didn't hate it, and wouldn't mind reading it before it lands on , I usually post them to the Delphi Fanfiction Forum first. (.com/ranma_fanfics/start) It was a really big forum for fanfics back in the day, but not so much anymore, and I'm hoping to bring people in to post fanfics, and give solid comments and critisicm.

Now, let's see if I can keep this going onto Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 2 QED

Notes: Here's the Second chapter. Usual disclaimers apply. Also, I thought I edited this in Chapter 1, but apparently not: Big thanks to pre-reader, Ray Venn Hakubi, Nanya4 and PC Heintz. Also, Nanya4 and PCHeintz over on Delphi's Anime/Manga fanfiction forum (Address in my profile as 'homepage') deserve big props for catching and correcting a fairly major error I made in the first draft.

Fate, Stay Ranma

Chapter 2

_Q.E.D._

It had never been like this before.

Ranma had always been easygoing. Almost to a fault, really, save where his father had been concerned. This had carried over into his fighting style, as he tended to view a martial challenge as a game for himself. Before every fight, he'd ask himself 'how can I win this with the absolute least amount of effort?' and gauging his opponent, he'd start out about mid-level and gradually raise his game until his opponent could no longer keep up, and then he'd end it quickly.

He couldn't afford to do that now. Fate was in trouble. Her situation was far out of his experience, and he didn't know what to do to help her, or even if he could. He couldn't stand by and do nothing, either, and have the girl who was rapidly becoming his best friend vanish for good...

He narrowed his eyes at the taller boy. He didn't know what to do, but he'd be damned if he didn't do what he could-and what he could do was finish this hard and fast.

Ranma exploded into motion, cutting off the beginnings of Kuno's reply, whatever it might have been, and his fist shot forward like he'd launched it from a gun. Kuno, despite being caught off guard, reacted quickly, his bokken sliding through the air to the guard position to intercept the blow, smirking triumphantly as Ranma's fist impacted with his weapon...

And the smirk vanished as the bokken shattered into toothpicks with the force of Ranma's blow. He backpedaled frantically, his eyes widening as Ranma followed up with a roundhouse punch, impacting solidly with his gut, driving the air from his lungs, and knocking him stumbling backward.

He didn't even see the uppercut that rocked his head back and set off fireworks inside his skull, and Ranma followed up by planting a foot on the stumbling upperclassman's chest, and snapping his body into a full flip, adding a bicycle kick to the chin that slammed Kuno's jaw shut so hard that three teeth cracked on impact, and the taller boy was tossed head over heels, landing in a heap several yards away.

He didn't get up.

Ranma didn't give the fallen boy another thought. He grabbed Bardiche from his pocket, clutching the little yellow medallion tightly. "...Warm..." He muttered to himself, wild eyed and panicked. From perfectly, stock-still, the teenage martial artist burst into motion, running for the stone wall that surrounded the school and vaulting up and over it out into the street, disappearing from sight.

Akane and Nabiki stood frozen at the scene after Ranma fled, staring in utter amazement. The entire exchange of blows had taken perhaps thirty seconds-maybe even less, and Kuno had been utterly destroyed in the process. Even when Akane had beaten the upperclassman's technique before, there had seemed something...sketchy about it, as though she was allowed to win at Kuno's sufferance and nothing more. Nabiki assumed Akane preferred not to think about that, but she couldn't afford to. With that hanging over the betting pools, she couldn't offer the odds she really wanted to. With the possibility of the insufferable kendoist deciding to turn the tables hanging over them completely at random, it was possible that a crippling loss for Akane could be crippling for herself, too.

And Ranma had beaten him. Easily.

And was quite potentially a massive lunatic, or hiding something monumental.

Either way, this situation needed to be brought under control. Now. The fallout from Kuno's gargantuan ego reacting to a blindingly humiliating loss of status as Furinkan's greatest fighter, or worse, if Ranma WAS nuts and stupidly strong to boot, if he snapped on her family, or someone else who couldn't defend themselves...who was going to suffer? Her family, that's who. Clearly unacceptable.

"Akane." Nabiki fished into her bag and withdrew a cellphone, tossing it at her sister, who caught the device blankly, staring at it, and then Nabiki.

"Oneechan, he-"

"Akane, FOCUS." Nabiki snapped, and she was gratified to see Akane snap to attention. "Call an ambulance and wait with him. Kuno-chan's jaw is broken. I'm going after Ranma."

"Yes! I...Wait a minute! You can't go after him! What if he...No, I'm going-"

Nabiki's eye twitched as Akane began costing her precious time in catching a boy with insane physical ability. "No, Akane, you're not." Nabiki replied testily. "You have all the tact and friendliness of a rabid pit bull, especially when it comes to boys, much less boys that could wipe the dojo with you in a clean fight! Now CALL!" She snapped, turning on her heel and running from the school grounds, her uniform dress flapping around her legs as she ran harder than she had in years...

To Nabiki's pleasant surprise, it took only a minute and a half of full out sprinting to catch up with Ranma-he'd stopped in an abandoned lot near the school, and he was on his knees in the dirt, holding that yellow medallion still. The sky was darkening quickly now, clouds roiling about like boiling soup-Kuno's lightning trick always seemed to invite a rainstorm, and this one looked to be worse than most.

Sure enough, as Nabiki slowed down and veered into the park, the familiar little pitter patter of raindrops around her began. The boy in front of her got wet gradually melting slowly, almost like a candle into the pretty, melancholy blonde girl, improbably long blonde hair spilling down her back and onto the dirt as she got close enough to hear Ranma-chan's voice, and the desperation in it.

"-Tell me what to do, Bardiche! I can't see or feel her anymore! Learning to use you was the only thing she could think of that would help her-"

**"Acknowledged. Repeat contract." **

Nabiki stopped short, her ragged breath catching in her chest as she heard the voice. It was instantly familiar to her, the voice they'd all heard just before Ranma and her father had knocked on their door. _Finding out it was talking jewelry is probably the least likely of all the options. _She thought, a nearly hysterical giggle almost pushing it's way out before a sudden, chilling thought occurred to her. _ So, wait. The Medallion is called Bardiche...and it can talk. Either whatever Saotome has got is contagious, or I've stepped into something much, much bigger than I ever even heard of..._

Ranma's heart nearly burst from sheer relief as the medallion finally spoke, and she had to momentarily resist her eyes' sudden urge to water. _Guys don't cry, dammit! _"Right." She agreed tensely, cradling the gleaming gold carefully.

**"By your power, and my will-"**

__Ranma held Bardiche to her bust, closing her eyes and breathing slowly and rhythmically, trying to focus as though she were about to begin a Kata, "By your power, and my will..."

**"I invoke the ancient contract." **

"I invoke the ancient contract." Ranma felt cold, as though a wind had started, her clothing rippling and splattering with water, but Bardiche remained calmly, serenely warm in her hands, and a warmth began to burn softly in her chest as though Bardiche were reaching into her.

_**"**_**Thunder crashes, and Lightning splits the skies-"**

"Thunder crashes, and Lightning splits the skies..."

**"**_**And Iron Will strengthens me**_**." **At some point, she couldn't figure out where, Ranma's voice and Bardiche's voice had begun to harmonize, the repetition turning into a chant they were sharing.

_**"By this magic in my hand...Bardiche-set up!" **_

** "Yes sir. Stand by ready- Get set!" **

__The warmth in Ranma's hand seemed to grow and grow until it reached a crescendo, and exploded in her hand, enveloping her entire body. Her clothes scattered and vanished to the winds, and Bardiche flew up on his own. A gleaming, golden nexus of power grew from the light, overlaid with black-and bits and pieces began to come together, a gleaming, futuristic looking axe-like device with an unblinking eye of yellow where it was mounted on a silver staff fell into Ranma-chan's hands. At the moment of contact, clothes reasserted themselves over Ranma, though, in unfamiliar configurations and styles, loose clothing, and something long and fluttering fell off her back, draping around her protectively.

The real world suddenly resumed focus all around her, the explosion of warmth and whatever receding, and she looked down at the strange clothing...

To find herself wearing boots, thigh high stockings a pink miniskirt belted over a black leotard that hugged her generous curves tightly, with an black cloak draped over her outfit and black gloves with golden images of Bardiche sewn to them.

"...WHAT THE HELL AM I WEARING?" Ranma yelled in shock, trying to cover herself with the black cloak, and pull down the pink skirt further at the same time, which was promptly interrupted by yet another voice...both welcome and familiar.

"Ranma-kun?"

Ranma instantly forgot all about her unfortunate wardrobe malfunction, spinning to face the new voice. Fate was there, better than ever. Somehow, she looked even stronger than before, giving Ranma a warm smile in the gently falling rain. "Fate-chan! You're back!"

She bobbed her head shyly. "Uh-huh. Thank you...I don't know how, but I could feel you pulling me back..."

A sharp coughing noise interrupted them both, and Ranma turned sharply to see Nabiki standing a few feet behind him, her arms crossed under her breasts, the rain soaking and darkening both her uniform dress and her hair, though looking for all the world as though she couldn't care less, a lone eyebrow raised as she gave Ranma an armor piercing stare. "That's a nice outfit, Saotome-kun. So, are you going to introduce me to your twin?"

"Gak~Nabiki!" Ranma flailed her arms, awkwardly fumbling with the large (though surprisingly light) polearm Bardiche had become. "When did you...What do you..."

Fate had gone very, very still as Nabiki had made her presence known, but between Ranma's flustered non-reply and Nabiki's silent, imperious waiting for a coherent reply, she just couldn't keep silent anymore. "Ah...Ex-Excuse me. Do you mean to say...that you can see me?"

Nabiki blinked, and to both Ranma and Fate's shock, turned her gaze directly on Fate. "Yes, I can. Why, I don't know, but when Saotome became a full fledged magical girl, you sort of...appeared in a burst of sparkles. Very flashy." She commented, tilting her head curiously.

"I'm not a magical girl!" Ranma regained her voice, glaring at Nabiki. The elder was unimpressed by the blonde girl's ire, covering her mouth with one hand to smother a laugh.

"That was magic, right?" She asked reasonably.

"Huh? Well...yeah...I think so." Ranma admitted, slumping a little.

"And you're a girl right now, right?" Nabiki pressed. "No little secrets in those panties?" She smirked.

"I don't wear-" Ranma began hotly, but Nabiki cut her off.

"Yes you do. They popped in after your boxers ripped themselves off. Black. Plain, but very sexy." The brunette teased, tucking her hair back behind her ear. "That was magic, and you're a girl. Right now, anyway. Magical girl. Q.E.D." She informed the neo-girl triumphantly. "Truthfully, this is a bit of a relief. I was...concerned you might be a super-strong nutcase."

"How is this any better?" Ranma demanded, a spike of heat bursting into her cheeks.

"Magic has rules. Or at least I'd assume so. Rules have order. Even if there's loopholes, you can logically get your head around rules. Insanity, anything can happen, anytime. That's way scarie-" Nabiki stopped short as a soft sob interrupted the conversation.

Fate was crying. Before their eyes, the other blonde sank to her knees, her face in her hands.

Ranma was ill-equipped to handle this, and right on cue, began to panic. "W-What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere? Why a-"

"Sh." Nabiki put her hand on the neo-magical girl's shoulder. "Easy, Saotome." She moved past Ranma and knelt in front of the new girl in the sodden grass, reaching out to touch her slightly. Her fingertips sank slightly into Fate's shoulder, glowing yellow at the point of contact. Nabiki blinked, but didn't withdraw. "Are you okay?"

Fate jumped slightly at the contact, as though she'd been shocked. She lifted her head out of her hands, tears tracking her cheeks, but incongruously, a soft smile on her face. "Yes!" She agreed, sniffling and scrubbing at her eyes. "I'm just so happy-"

"Happy?" Ranma echoed softly from behind the two girls, utterly bewildered.

Fate giggled. "Yes, Happy." She replied patiently, smiling a little wider as she wiped at her teary eyes. "Tendo-san is the first other person I've been able to talk to since you saved me from the spring, Ranma-kun."

"Ahh..." Nabiki nodded understandingly, and patted Fate's shoulder, the same odd glowing effect flaring lightly at the contact. "Let's get out of the rain. I've got a ton of questions for both of you, and we're way too late to get to school on time now..."

"Wait, I can't go like this-" Ranma protested, gesturing to her skimpy little outfit, pulling on her pink skirt with her free hand and looking, to Nabiki's eyes, amusingly distressed. The older girl smacked herself in the forehead with her palm to clear out the bad thought, and the temptation to tease. _Later, when he's not so new that he'll get all huffy._

She couldn't help smirking, though. "So don't. Undo it, and let's go."

"I...Uh, I don't know how."

"Close your eyes and feel for Bardiche. Ask him to power down in your thoughts." Fate suggested. "It's like meditation, but not quite..." Nabiki raised an eyebrow, filing that away for future reference, but she didn't add anything, simply looking to Ranma expectantly.

It took a few moments, and Ranma made a face that looked like she was undergoing a particularly...fibrous bowel movement-Nabiki had to clap her hand tightly over her mouth to keep from laughing out loud-but finally, Ranma found the secret, and her odd black and pink 'costume' came apart in a shower of pink motes of light that swirled away and dissipated.

Ranma opened one eye, glancing at Nabiki to gauge her success. The brunette girl was smiling at him, arms folded. "Well?" She probed, not wanting to look down.

"You should probably charge anyone who sees you do that." She suggested. "I know girls in gentlemen's clubs that reveal less than that and make a ton of money."

"Eh?" Ranma blinked three times before Nabiki's meaning dawned on her. "I ain't a stripper!" she protested angrily.

"I didn't say you were. But you know that you're buck naked for a moment or so during that henshin sequence, right? I would KILL for a backside like yours, Saotome."

"You can have it." Ranma grumped, looking down at herself, relieved to discover that she was clad in her red shirt and black pants once more. "And it's not a henshin..." She began lamely, then gave up. "Fine, it's a henshin. Arrrgh, this is so weird..."

"It's not so bad." Fate tried to comfort him. "You'll get used to it."

"I don't want to get used to it!" Ranma protested wearily. "I want to get you your body back, and me cured."

The other blonde girl smiled warmly. "Thank you, Ranma-kun. That means a lot to me."

Nabiki coughed into her hand. "Look, I hate to break up the moment, you seem to be having, but it IS Raining. Can we get on with this, please?" She insisted.

"But what about Fate-chan?" Ranma wondered, glancing at said girl, pursing her lips. "We can't take her into a restaurant if she's all glowy when she touches stuff-"

"Don't worry about that. I can't see her anymore. She disappeared when you changed back. Since you're still talking to her, I assume she's there, but I can't see her, so no one else will be able to either. Probably. Can we GO now?" Nabiki was beginning to get testy, and Ranma and Fate involuntarily stepped back from her growing annoyance.

"Hai!" Ranma blurted, startled and giving Fate an apologetic look. The latter simply smiled faintly and nodded, patting her on the back. Then they both hurried to catch Nabiki, who had already turned and moved off...

The discussion at a restaurant had to be put off, since both of the corporeal participants in the affair were soaked to the skin. Nabiki, however, had a solution for this.

Ranma was not pleased with the solution, though she had little choice in the matter. Nabiki was stronger than she looked, and Ranma's girl form was significantly lighter than Nabiki, and the older girl was absolutely unswayed by Ranma's complaints. In fact, she played him rather expertly into her own hands, and that was how Ranma, cheeks as red as apples, and wearing a pair of shorts that flashed far more of her legs than she was comfortable with, and a loose fitting yellow and green top with short, flared sleeves and decorated with flowers in a Hawaiian style. Nabiki was dressed similarly, only in light blue and pink, and holding an umbrella for the both of them, while Ranma was tasked with carrying the bag full of their wet clothes.

Fate had been no help whatsoever, primarily gushing over the 'cute outfit', and trying to suggest more clothes for Ranma to try on. Despite the 'sad eyes', Ranma had stubbornly refused, though Fate was still beaming as they left the shop, and Ranma was left wondering if she'd been teasing or not. At any rate, the journey was almost over. Nabiki led them into a restaurant called 'Skylark', and a cute, dark haired waitress led them to a table. She seemed to know Nabiki personally, and they chatted for a moment once they'd seated, introducing herself to Ranma and cheerfully enthusing over how cute the blonde girl was. Ranma's expression was enough to make Nabiki purse her lips to keep from laughing, and when the talkative waitress finally left them to their own devices, Ranma sulked.

"I ain't cute." She griped to the world in general. Nabiki just rolled her eyes.

"Get used to it, Saotome. And stop sulking. It just attracts more attention." She dismissed. "You really need to get over this, at least until you can get it straightened out. What is it that you're so afraid of?"

Ranma stiffened. "I'm not afraid of anything!" She retorted hotly.

"You were holding the bra like it was going to bite you." Nabiki set her menu down and rested her chin in her hands, giving the younger 'girl' a bemused look.

"Why did I haveta wear that, anyway?"

"Because you need it." Nabiki informed Ranma bluntly. "Look into my eyes and tell me seriously...does your chest not feel a lot better with it on?"

"I'm a guy, dammit!"

"No one's questioning that, Saotome." Nabiki replied irritably. "But hearing you whine like this, I'm starting to feel insulted."

"What? How come?" Ranma asked blankly, her face a complete picture of clueless innocence. Nabiki had to stifle a sudden, powerful urge to faceplant into the table.

"Because I'm a girl." She told him, giving him a flat look. Unseen, Fate covered a sympathetic smile with the older girl to hide it from Ranma, who might have seen.

"Yeah, but you're different. Kinda cool, actually." Ranma replied innocently, completely clueless to the sudden pink tint of Nabiki's cheeks. "Most girls are either psycho, or just...kinda soft. You an' Fate-chan are the only girls I've met that didn't wanna pound me, or talk about clothes and getting married."

She took a moment to digest that, forcing herself to get rid of the heat threatening to burn her cheeks, taking a deep breath. She couldn't refute his statement based on her sisters...it was a pretty bang on assessment of Kasumi and Akane's interests. Still, though... "How many girls have you met, and really gotten to know?" Ranma counted on her fingers. The grand total came to four. "How can you be so sure that all girls are like that?"

"Oyaji is pretty emphatic about it." Ranma shrugged her slim shoulders unconcernedly.

"The same 'oyaji' that was smart enough to wander into China without knowing Chinese, and got you that curse to start with?" Nabiki asked pointedly.

"Yeah." Ranma bobbed her head in an affirmative nod, then caught herself, dawning comprehension of Nabiki's point hitting her square between the eyes. "Wait..."

"Oh, I LIKE her..." Fate smiled, resting her arm on the table, watching the back and forth raptly.

Ranma floundered as she tried to come up with a reply. "Well...I'm still meant to be a guy, though!" She protested. "It ain't like I wanna be a girl..."

Nabiki raised an eyebrow. "I'm not saying you have to embrace it as a lifestyle, Ranma-but if you have to deal with it, is it better to yell to the sky about how mad you are about it, or work around it?"

Ranma furrowed her brow, thinking hard. Nabiki watched her for a moment, feeling funny about the warmth in the pit of her stomach just watching the blonde girl. _I have to put a stop to this...that expression is just too adorable...Since when do I think like that? _"Uhh..."

"Don't think too hard. I can see the smoke coming from your ears." Nabiki snarked playfully. "Leaving that aside..." She began in tones that implied she expected to come back to it at some point, "Let's go over this magic thing. Fate's still here to answer questions, right?"

Ranma bobbed her head in a quick nod, looking to Fate sitting at her left in the booth. The latter gave Ranma an encouraging smile, patting her twin lightly. "She can ask whatever she wants. I'll answer as best I can if she promises to keep it secret." Fate affirmed

Ranma relayed this to Nabiki, who nodded, despite looking a bit rankled at the condition. "Do you know how much you could make with a magic show?" She asked, miffed.

"Nabiki..." Ranma frowned warningly.

"Right, Right, I got it." Nabiki waved her hand dismissively. "I make it a practice not to offend people who can make jewelry into giant pole-arms to whack me with. I promise I won't make this sort of thing public, but I may need to use it to find her friends. Won't I?" She asked pointedly, giving Ranma a look, and glancing at where she assumed Fate was.

"Well...maybe." Fate replied, uncertainly. "It might help convince Nanoha if she finds her, and we're not there..."

"She says maybe ya can, but..." Ranma trailed off, looking as uncertain as Fate did.

"Roger. Be careful." Nabiki tapped her lips thoughtfully, and Ranma found her eyes drifting to Nabiki's lips as they were touched. Suddenly, Nabiki straightened. "Alright." She declared firmly. She reached over to the cards used to solicit comments on the restaurant's service, harvesting the stubby little pencil, and fishing out a napkin to write on. "Names and addresses of the people she wants to find. And anyone who might know them. Spare no details. Usually, I'd settle on a fee before I started, but your promise of a favor, and possible opportunities along the way seem more than worth the expended effort, especially now that there's real magic in the picture."

"Real magic? What do you call my curse?" Ranma argued.

"A cute trick." Nabiki replied, with an apologetic smile. "No offense, but it doesn't quite have the pizazz that your henshin does." Nabiki thought Ranma's annoyed expression was pretty cute, too. _I need to do some SERIOUS research on alternate sexuality when I get home. I've never really been one for dating, but I -have- been interested in boys...and yet one slinky little blonde has me more flustered than I've ever been. Not a good sign. _She mused, more than a little concerned, despite enjoying herself immensely.

"It's not a hensh-"

"Names?" Nabiki interrupted smoothly, trying not to smirk.

"Ranma-kun, please..." Fate urged anxiously.

"Fine, fine." Ranma griped, folding her arms under her bust and slumping back in the booth seat.

"Takamachi Nanoha. Yagami Hayate. Lindy Harlaown. But...they may be off world..." She realized, uncertainly. "If so, Arisa Bannings and Tsukimura Suzuka would know how to get messages to them." Fate explained slowly, Ranma echoing and relaying her words to Nabiki, who meticulously copied everything.

"Alright. Start with the last known addresses, and work from there. I want -everything- she can remember, Saotome."

Ranma hesitated, foreseeing some immensely tedious hours ahead, but one glance at Fate's hopeful expression shattered his burgeoning resentment, and she nodded reluctantly. "Alright already. Whenever you're ready, Fate-chan. Let's get this over with."

What seemed like hours later, the 'debriefing', as Nabiki was calling it, began to wind down. Ranma had forgotten her discomfort, and was actively participating in the conversation, rather than just rotely repeating Fate's answers to Nabiki's questions. The food probably didn't hurt, as Ranma put away yet another parfait. Fate was beginning to worry about the cost of the dry clothes and the food Nabiki was buying, but the older girl simply smiled and assured them both that doing a few favors would cover the cost with no issues. Fate had wanted to know precisely what kind of favors, but the brunette girl had smoothly deflected the questions with a few of her own about how magic worked, and the topic had been largely forgotten.

The discussion of magic itself was both surprising and illuminating, highlighting exactly how much Fate did, and didn't know about how her talents worked. Nabiki seemed well pleased with the impromptu lesson on the physics and function of magic, but getting to the actual results of magic had been less than enlightening. Which was where they were stuck now. Fate herself was somewhat perplexed as to why she had taken on real, physical form for a brief time.

"Well, what about the yellow glow?" Nabiki was asking.

"Yellow glow?" Fate echoed, blankly.

"Right when Nabiki touched ya, right where her hand pressed on yer shoulder, ya glowed kinda goldish yellow." Ranma explained, to clarify. Nabiki winced at the sloppy speech patterns of the neo-girl across from her.

"Saotome, at least try and speak a little more...gracefully in that form. It'll take anyone who's met you both ways thirty seconds to work out the fact that you're cursed if you talk like a dock worker as a girl." She reproved. Ranma flushed and stuck out her tongue at the older girl. As they were bickering, the unseen blonde girl was still, eyes wide.

"I ain't gonna talk all girly-"

"Saotome, even tomboys...hell, most full grown men speak more daintily than you." Ranma puffed out her chest with pride at that, and Nabiki rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you have a nice bustline." She snarked.

"Hey-!" Ranma began...

"Yellow..." Fate murmured softly, thinking hard, sighing a little. "It must not be a real body." She said finally, slumping a little in her chair. Her expression was downcast, and so despondent that Ranma was distracted from Nabiki's baiting to address her.

"Hey...whoa-what do ya mean, 'not real'?" Ranma asked quickly, eager to divert the spectral girl's attention from her inward thoughts-It was almost unbearable to see Fate sad, especially when there was literally nothing to be done...even hugs were problematic. "How can it not be real? You were there, right? At least for a bit...Nabiki could even touch ya, right?" She looked over to Nabiki in alarm and desperation, forgetting the older girl couldn't see her depressed companion.

Nabiki narrowed her eyes-there was some sort of breakthrough here, and she needed to be a part of it. "Saotome...no, Ranma. Just let her explain. It's better to let her get it off her chest herself. And repeat it for me so I can hear this, too."

"Huh?"

"I'll want every scrap of information I can get. Information is power. And sometimes money, too. Shush and just let her explain."

"'kay..." Ranma muttered uncertainly.

Nabiki focused her eyes on the empty spot to the left of Ranma that the blonde girl had been talking to. "Alright, Fate. Go ahead. What happened to make you visible for a little while?"

"O-Okay...." Fate sighed heavily. "The glow is...or, rather was, probably a mana discharge. When you push it into a physical shape, Mana can exist in one form indefinitely, but contact with something solid bleeds out a little of the energy with each impact. It can be arranged to release all of it on contact, which makes a good weapon, but in the more benign forms, only a little leaks out with physical contact. Which means Bardiche and Ranma-kun made me a temporary body from his power, like an extremely complex magic shell."

"Well, that's too bad, but it's not the worst case scenario. I wonder, would he be able to do that all the time?" Nabiki wondered, thinking it might be nice to have a second 'Ranma' for her purposes at school.

"I don't know." Fate admitted. "Use of magic without transforming is possible, but with Ranma-kun relatively inexperienced like this...and there's power loss to consider. I've never tried something like this. Even Arf was...was..." Fate trailed off, staring into space.

"Arf?" Ranma prompted quietly, uncertain how to respond to the sudden silence.

"She was my closest...my only friend for years, before I met Nanoha. Linith helped me make her into my familiar...my close partner when she was about to die...But I was dead...without my power to sustain her, Arf can't keep on living." Fate's eyes turned on Ranma, and Ranma's eyes widened at the grief beginning to take root.

"H-Hey, c'mon, Fate-chan...She coulda made it, right? There's no sense in freakin' out before you know for sure, right?"

Nabiki sighed. "Really tactful, Ranma. Listen, Fate-you have a lot of friends who can do this magic. Wouldn't one of them keep her alive for you?" Nabiki tried.

"M-Maybe." Fate agreed reluctantly. "It's very difficult, though-and it takes a lot of magic to make the transfer..." She trailed off, thoughtfully. "But Hayate-chan has large reserves...I hope..." She trailed off, anxiously.

"Okay." Nabiki interjected, hoping to divert their invisible friend from her anxiety. "I'm not usually this nice, but I think, from the shocks and the sob story, I'll be a sucker just this once and get to work right away. It'll move up the timetable a bit, but you can start working for me to compensate for it. Here's how it'll be. Ranma, I need you to do something for me. We're getting close to lunch time. I want you to go to my house, and have Kasumi get you one of my spare uniforms...you're a little big for Akane's, I think..."

"What?? I wanna go change back as soon as possible!" Ranma protested.

"Hush and listen." Nabiki snapped. "Consider it a downpayment on the detective work I'm about to do for you and Fate. I need someone to go to school in my place and oversee the betting pools today, especially now that I'm going to be gone for the rest of the day!"

"Wait...betting pools?" Ranma frowned. "Don't we got kinda more important-"

"Stop. Interrupting." Nabiki's glare could have frozen a river, and Ranma found herself swallowing nervously, even though the older girl presented no physical threat whatsoever. Some dark voice in the corner of her mind insisted it would be unwise to cross this person... "The betting pools are sometimes for me, sometimes to make sure we have enough extra money to keep the house together. I like to make money. But it's not all about the fun of the chase. You've traveled around, and been in pit fights, right? You should know how these things work."

"Well...yeah..." Ranma ventured slowly when it became evident Nabiki was actually looking for a response. "But...why do I gotta stay as a girl?" She complained.

"Because you'll be working with my assistants, and one of them has a problem with getting close to men." Nabiki replied easily. "I'll write you a note of introduction, and they'll take care of your boy form being absent today."

"You can do that?" Ranma gaped.

"Making money has some interesting side benefits." Nabiki grinned. "Now, I..."

Before she could finish her sentence, the deep, resonant boom of an explosion rocked the restaurant. The building shuddered, dishes and glasses shattered in the sudden, awful moment of chaos, but thankfully, the restaurant itself stayed intact. There was a split second of calm after the shaking stopped...and then the screams began, the customers stampeding to the exit.

"What the hell-?" Ranma blurted, running over to the window. Nabiki followed quickly.

Outside the restaurant, on the city streets, there were even more people fleeing in panic, and Nabiki caught a glimpse of a large, shining ball of light headed for the street before Ranma grabbed her and dove for the floor. "LOOK OUT!"

Behind them, the windows of the restaurant exploded inward in a shower of glass. Nabiki scrunched her eyes shut, feeling a sudden impact on her chest, expecting to open her eyes to a serious injury. Instead, when she cracked them open, She found Ranma's worried expression examining her closely.

"Hey, 'biki, you ok?" She prodded. "Your face is all red and stuff. You hurt?"

"Get off me!" Nabiki snapped embarrassedly. "We have to run!" She hesitated a beat, and added quietly, "Don't call me that."

"We can't run...who knows what that thing is doin' to all those people out there!" Ranma insisted, standing up quickly, strangely calm and self possessed, instead of easily embarrassed, like before. "Stay here an' stay low, okay?" She instructed, and without waiting for the older girl's reply, Ranma vaulted out the shattered window frame.

"Ranma, DON'T!" Nabiki yelled in alarm as the blonde mane fluttered out into the wind and rain and dissappeared from sight.

Nabiki Tendo was not a sentimental person. Not at all. Selling pictures of one's youngest sister to Kuno for spending money tended to burn that sort of thing right out of you. But seeing the small, curvy blonde girl she'd known barely a full day, charging fearlessly into an unknown danger made her feel as though her chest was being clenched by a vise.

"Come back in one piece, ahou." She whispered, thumping her fist lightly against the floor.

Ranma dashed out into the pouring rain and screaming crowds feeling more in her element than she had all day. "This...This I can do." She proclaimed, running in the opposite direction from the fleeing crowds, toward whatever they were fleeing.

"Ranma-kun, be careful." Fate urged, following him quickly through the mass of people. "Maybe you should activate Bardiche and the barrier jacket."

"I dunno-I'll learn that stuff, like I promised, but I don't know it yet, Fate-chan." She told her friend, not even struggling for breath as they pushed through the crowd. Impulsively, she jumped up, and using her ki to reduce her weight, she began running on -top- of the fleeing people, using heads and shoulders to push herself forward, Fate close on her heels. "Using right now could screw me up, an'...holy hell, what the heck is that??"

They had come to a break in the crowd, and Ranma landed lightly on the pavement, staring in shock at the vaguely man-shaped beast just down the street from the restaurant. Obsidian skin with wild, inky hair and iridescent gold eyes, covered in a mottled grey web of bone like, chitinous Armour in a clothes-like formation, it's attention fixed firmly on Ranma as she landed in the middle of the street.

"Oh kami...Ranma...You should run."

Fate's voice had turned brittle and shocked, an edge of fear cutting into it, enough fear that Ranma turned to look at the girl, surprised. "Huh?"

"You can't use Bardiche, Ranma-kun. It won't work. It might even ruin him for good."

"Why? What the heck is that thing?" He insisted.

"I don't know it's name." Fate replied, staring at it in horrified fascination, and Ranma looked back, the beast thing still watching them, snorting softly and baring its teeth. Ranma felt an extremely unpleasant chill skitter down her spine as she recognized the animalistic narrowing of it's eyes as their gazes locked. "It eats magic. It's what drowned me in Jusenkyo."


	4. Chapter 3 Run Devil Run

Author's note: The title of this Chapter comes from a song by a Korean Girl group called SNSD. If you're the sort of person who likes to imagine fanfics have an Opening Theme, RDR would be it. Anyway, sorry this took awhile. I'm subject to an absurd 'real life' than includes a full time job and a slew of 'issues' that distract from sitting down to write. But hey! New chapter! Flees during the distraction

Fate, Stay Ranma

Chapter 3

"Run Devil Run"

"Oh. Well, crap."

It wasn't the most intelligent of responses to such a grave statement, but Ranma found that she honestly couldn't think of anything to say, staring at his spectral friend in shock. Fate, in contrast, was getting more and more alarmed, and the sudden severing of the eye contact (If those things could really be called eyes) had broken the uneasy standoff.

A ragged gash in the obsidian slab that passed for the creature's face opened wide, the 'mouth' lit from the inside, as if it's belly was full of glowing hot coals. A shrieking roar that sounded alien and painful to human ears raged from it's gut, like a million panes of glass being run through a trash compactor. It began to move, taking one step, then two, then three-it picked up speed slowly, the ground shaking a little with each step-Ranma noted with growing alarm that each step was also gouging out chunks of the concrete beneath it's feat. She watched it's charge with an almost horrified fascination, dimly aware that Fate was screaming at her.

"-YOU CAN'T BEAT THAT! IT'LL HOME IN ON MY LINKER CORE! FIND HOT WATER! RUN!"

Ranma dimly wondered why Fate was screaming before she realized she'd been unresponsive-almost too long. The ground was shuddering now, and the creature was almost in range- "Holy crap!" She yelped, leaping as high as she could.

The monster nearly grazed her feet as it thundered through the spot where she'd been not a moment before, smashing headlong into the stone building that had been behind her on the sidewalk. Stones joined Ranma in midair, and she felt a heavy thump against her side followed by a sparkling burst of pain that threw her off her arc in midair. Her heart sank as she realized she was going to overshoot her landing point-

Reflexively, her hand shot out and snagged a lamppost she was sailing past, and she shifted her momentum, glad momentarily that her female form was so light, as she easily changed momentum to flip herself around and up, perching on the thin metal bar to catch her breath, rubbing at her side. It throbbed in response. "That ain't good." She muttered softly.

"Ranma, please!" Fate pleaded. Ranma glanced over and saw the blonde girl utterly ignoring the usual rules of nature she tended to abide by to make herself feel more 'real', floating beside the neo-girl in empty space. "You have to run. My body will get you killed!"

"I can't just run away!" Ranma protested, watching the hole in the building intently-there were sounds of movement inside-some screams which made her teeth grind, and the distinctive thudding step of the monster. "...Fate-chan...Is it killing people in there?" She asked, anxiously, tensing her leg muscles to dive in after it.

"It shouldn't be..." Fate replied nervously. "When there's a source of magic around, it ignores almost everything else to kill and eat it. That means YOU, Ranma-kun..."

"And you." Ranma noted. "You don't have to worry, Fate-chan...I'll keep ya safe."

"No!" Fate burst out, her eyes wide and urgent, an exclamation that drew a startled look from the blonde girl. "I'm already dead...I don't want you to-"

The sound of cracking masonry drew both their attentions, and with another painful roar, the beast tore free of the building, it's eyes and face orienting on Ranma immediately. The glowing mouth opened inhumanly wide, like a snake about to consume a wild animal whole, and the brightness within abruptly began to intensify dramatically-

Ranma's combat senses went absolutely bonkers, and she dove desperately off the lamppost, followed by a scream from Fate as a loud, angry gout of flame engulfed her former perch. She landed on the pavement fluidly, dropping into a crouch to soak up the majority of the impact, then rising again, giving the creature a frustrated look. "Man, that just ain't fair!"

"Ranma-kun-" Fate was wringing her hands, and Ranma gave her friend a confident smile. "Don't worry. Really, I got this. I don't lose."

"It's charging up again!" Fate warned, and Ranma reflected that it was probably good she didn't have a body at the moment-She was going to give herself a heart attack, she looked so stressed. Then she looked over at the...the thing, jaws agape and glowing, and decided a LITTLE caution might not be amiss.

"Nyah! Can't hit me!"

Caution manifests somewhat differently in members of the Saotome family.

She danced from side to side, skittering back and forth just enough to see the beast's head track her movement, and cursed to herself as it was made abundantly clear that she would have to dodge at the last moment, or come up with a more cogent plan, especially if Fate was right, and she couldn't get close and beat it with her bare hands. Her eyes were already roaming the street, looking for ideas, when inspiration began to form-

-right around the same time as the beast let loose once more, and a writhing gout of flame vomited forth, scorching the air in a continuous stream, and Ranma yelped, leaping and rolling out of the way as quickly as she could, only this time, the flames weren't stopping, and they were licking closer and closer as she dodged for her life, and she was glad at least for the clothes as anything that covered more would be on fire by now and as it was she was going to need a tube of burn cream, and a respite to finish the partly formed plan but it didn't look like it was going to happen, and she was beginning to tire-

The sound of a rather meaty crunching noise from the general area of Ranma's tormentor shocked the transformed boy from his rather desperate train of thought as she skidded to a stop. The sudden, sputtering death of the flames licking at her legs was suddenly replaced by the cool, sprinkling blanket of rain. Both Ranma and Fate, who had been watching with both hands covering her mouth to keep from distracting Ranma at a critical moment, gave twin sighs of relief-the latter looking up as the former's knees wobbled, and she thrust out an arm, propping herself up with a street sign. She looked over at the monster as she tried to recover as quickly as she could.

It was a startling, but enlightening sight. The Monster was standing stock still, most of it's head replaced by what looked to be a sizable chunk of building masonry-most notably, building masonry with clean, smooth edges, as if someone had hewn it from it's building with something incredibly sharp.

"Ranma-kun!" A quick look at her ethereal companion revealed that she was still looking up, and Ranma snapped her eyes skyward in time to see a dark red shape detach itself from the roof of a nearby building-conveniently, a roof that was missing a sizable chunk of it's stone overhang- and landed directly in front of Ranma.

Ranma blinked as he eyes focused on the shape through the rain, and it resolved itself into a girl. Almost as tall as she was, in a red cheongsam that fluttered around the curve of generous hips suggestively, and long, mahogany brown hair bound up in twin tails, braided and looped tightly against her head. Ranma couldn't help noticing the stance, and that she was brandishing an ornate sword that fairly reeked of chi. _Definitely a fighter, then...like Shampoo. That ain't no Amazon stance, though. Kinda looks like ninjutsu. _

The girl looked back at Ranma, who was dismayed to suddenly realize the girl had been protecting her. She looked over her shoulder, and fixed Ranma with an appraising look, and finally, her jade green eyes softened as she smiled at the neo-girl. "Hi. I didn't mean to butt in, but you looked like you could use an opening. You should run-an injury like that won't stop them for long." She told Ranma tensely, sneaking a glance at the beast-

-sure enough, the monster's head was making sickening noises as it was beginning to shuffle around, stumbling and waving it's arms-

"What about you?" Ranma objected, red-faced, pointing at the girl's sword with wounded pride. "Finish him off with that thing."

"I can't. My Soul sword is powered by me, but my ring's magic gives it a shape. That thing would eat the magic and my chi would dissipate if I got too close."

"Wait, you know what that thing does too?"

"Ranma-kun!" Fate called in warning and Ranma's reflexes snapped head toward the monster once again to see the beast reaching into it's head and pulling out the stone, the mouth beginning to reform instantly as it lunged for them, gigantic hands outstretched-

The pair reacted in Unison, both girls each diving out of the way as the beast stormed through the space they had occupied, rolling fluidly to their feet as the behemoth charged between them. The Thing's mass made maneuverability a pipe dream as it skidded and shredded the concrete under it's feet as it tried to stop and turn.

"Ranma, please-" Fate began urgently, unusual anxiety writ large all over her face as she watched her best friend/twin roll to her feet, bouncing lightly. "Get away-there's no Jusenkyo to save you, and it'll definitely kill you if it gets the chance." She begged.

Ranma flashed Fate a grin...a grin that Fate felt was far more confident than the situation warranted as her eyes flickered in quick sweeps up and down the street. "No worries. I've got an idea."

(((((((((())))))))))

Nabiki Tendo was running. The sight was unusual to say the least-even in gym class, she let things happen around her. Seeming anxious or intense about something was leverage for others to use against her. She needed her mask in place at all times if she wanted her position as 'Ice Queen' to stay in place, and access to extra money to keep coming in.

Ranma had upset her mental applecart something fierce, and she was finding the experience an adrenaline rush, but extremely vexing. For instance, she was running. That was bad enough. But she was running -toward- noise and screams.

Seriously, what the hell?

Ranma was screwing with her mind. Had it really only been yesterday that he'd come to her home? Granted, she'd been the most enthusiastic of her sisters about the potential fiance. The curse had been a deal breaker, or so she thought, even if he was the perfect combination of stud-muffin and jock to raise her stock around the school. Not to mention add an extra layer of protection from people who thought they could strongarm her when she used...questionable tactics to make them pay up.

But it had been Ranma-as-Fate that had started seriously messing with her head. If he had been a cute guy, those same earnest but awkward social graces from the blonde girl had been a shock to her mental system. Ranma in his girl form gave her a serious case of the warm-and-fuzzies. She couldn't help teasing him, of course-the cute top and the hotpants had been an impulse but looked so good, she'd picked up a similar outfit.

It wasn't all repressed hormones and questionable sexuality bubbling to the surface, however. Real, actual magic-somehow the curse didn't make the same impact as a magical henshin and a talking wand reached down deep inside her, past her practicality and into a place she hadn't touched since she was very little. An opportunity to shed her mask-however temporarily-and live a life ungoverned by ruthlessly practical goals made her heart swell almost breathlessly. Not to mention help someone. Fate was every bit as adorable as Ranma, and the ghostly girl needed help that fit her expertise perfectly.

She had a chance to feel like a good person for a change.

And now Ranma, the stupid idiot was going to go and get herself killed.

Himself. She meant himself.

Whatever was happening was close now-just up around the corner. When she saw it, she skidded to a stop, her jaw dropping.

Ranma-chan was fighting alongside another girl, both facing off against a huge, hideous monster that looked like the unholy union of an alligator and a stone quarry. It was thrilling and terrifying all at once...especially since Ranma-chan had elected not to transform for some reason.

"Saotome, you had better live through this, so I can kill you."

(((((((((())))))))))

"Idea?"

Ranma nodded quickly to Fate as she watched the other girl yelling and throwing things at the magic-sucker, presumably to try and lead it away from Ranma. Once she was certain her improvised partner had the thing's attention, Ranma bolted across the street, blonde hair flowing behind her like a comet's trail.

"Ranma-kun?" Fate inquired anxiously as she followed along in her twin's wake, wringing her hands nervously. The boy was headstrong and impulsive, and she had a sinking feeling she was watching the end of him without being able to do a single thing about it.

"No worries." Ranma grinned again with a demonic glee. Fate started as She notice Ranma beginning to glow a faint, but noticeable blue. "If we can't use your powers, we'll use mine."

"But...magic-"

"Not magic. Ki." That said, Ranma leaned down, gripping the Stop sign she'd run to tightly. "My control isn't really as precise as the monk that taught me says it should be, but I can do well enough for one fight, I think." She grunted softly, closing her eyes-

-and tore the metal pole from the pavement.

The noise shocked Fate as much as the ease of the action. The sign protested being removed from it's mooring in the concrete with a hideous metallic shriek that stopped the fight going on a few feet away as both the girl with the sword and the monster stopped to look at Ranma and Fate.

Ranma's grin stretched from ear to ear as she spun the stop sign like a bo staff, spinning the heavy metal pole around as though it was a broomstick. She brought it to the ready position like a naginata, using the sign itself as a blade. Slowly, the blue glow seeped out from her to envelop the pole itself.

"All right, Ugly. Let's rumble!"

(((((((((())))))))))

The battle was met.

Ranma had never tried to use this much ki in a fight before-the monk had been very clear. Usage of ki to reinforce his arms or legs was a minor action, one that had limited consequences, but pumping it all through his body could kill a human opponent, or worse, eat up all his reserves and he would collapse before a fight was over.

The latter would be a huge problem here, and it would be all over, but that only meant she had to win quickly, didn't it?

The Magic-sucker rushed at her, and she did the same, dipping low to duck under the massive arms swinging at her, and she swung her improvised weapon in a short, clean arc into it's unprotected gut- _If I don't have enough ki, this'll be the shortest offensive in history..._

She needn't have worried. The pole impacted with impressively satisfying clang, and knocked the beast backward several steps. Ranma glanced at her weapon. The ki she'd pumped into it had done it's job, and there was almost no damage from the blow, not even bent. She laughed, her grin widening even more as she looked up at her opponent.

The monster was shaking itself off, as though uncertain what had just happened, like it was psyching itself up to renew the offensive.

The other girl was staring at Ranma as though her approach had been a revelation, and she darted out of her line of sight for a moment. Ranma hoped she wasn't running away-she could use a hand in conserving ki, but that hardly mattered. Before the monster could work up the nerve to rush her again, she took the initiative, rushing it. The monster set itself as she closed, and Ranma had an unsettling feeling she'd wasted the chance for a really good surprise attack.

The clash of her weapon against the rocky plating in it's arms echoed up the street. She was faster, but it was bigger, making up for the speed difference with smaller moves.

She began to funnel more and more ki into herself and her weapon, and it began to blur as she slashed and smashed against the monster. The monster replied in kind, hastening it's pace. It was unable to mount a counter attack, but it managed to block the lion's share of the swings.

Ranma pressed the attack, the swings of her polearm becoming more and more ferocious. The clashing noise grew more and more intense, the glowing edge of the stop sign beginning to carve furrows deep in the plating of the beast that weren't healing before she could inflict another. And another-finally, the standoff broke as the monster stumbled back a step.

Ranma was breathing heavily, but her grin was triumphant. It was working! If she could only hold out long enough to batter the monster into the construction site at the end of the road-

-The Magic Sucker found an opening, finally able to swing at Ranma, and she yelped, bracing herself-

CLANG!

A blur of red sliced past Ranma's head close enough to flutter her hair, and slammed into the monster's face, vibrating with the impact. Ranma blinked at the crosswalk sign that embedded itself into the rocky dome like a shiruken. She looked over her shoulder, and the girl with the circle-braided ponytails was crouched on the roof of a nearby car with a stack of street signs that had been liberated from their poles.

"Keep going! I'll cover you!" She called, picking up another and flinging it at the monster's legs, making the beast stumble as it tried to wrest the foreign object from what passed for it's face.

"Thanks!"

Ranma was grinning again, redoubling her efforts. This time, she had backup, the brunette behind her flipping into view and hurling metal street signs into various opening caused by Ranma's attacks, and Ranma's attacks finding holes left when the beast tried to intercept the incoming metal throwing weapons.

"Chanchan bara, chan bara bara~" Ranma sang along with each clash of her weapon or the other girl's, as they relentlessly knocked the monster back. The battle raged for nearly a block as they knocked it back, over and over and over, and finally, they were at their destination. "Samurai Sentai Shin-ken-jaa!" She punctuated the exclamation in the song by dropping to one knee and swinging the pole hard, abandoning technique for power as it impacted the Magic-sucker's midsection. The pole exploded under the force of the blow and repeated infusions of ki, but the hit scored blew the thing into the construction yard, sending it tumbling head over heels before it slammed into the concrete foundation. Ranma stayed where she was, panting for breath as she tried to suck up whatever reserves she could still scrape together...

The girl in the red dress landed beside Ranma lightly, offering the blonde girl a thin metal pole with a Japanese flag still attached. "I thought you might need this when I figured out what you were doing."

"Heh. Thanks." She murmured, taking the 'weapon' without complaint.

"So...you have a plan, right?" She asked, still looking at where the thing was struggling to his feet.

"Don't you?"

"Yes, but the idiot is late." She replied testily, looking skyward. "The rain is letting up, so he has no excuse. My partner's boyfriend is constantly getting lost, and we kind of need him for this." She added, by way of an explanation to Ranma.

"Sounds...familiar, somehow." Ranma replied, and pointed up the iron skeleton of the building being built. "See that crane, and the girders it's holding? Can you cut the cable and drop them while I keep it busy?"

"What? Drop it on you?" She asked, appalled.

Ranma stripped the flag free of it's pole, testing it's size and weight. "No worries." She flashed a grin. "When you're ready, lemme know somehow. I'll get up about three floors higher than the thing, then cut it."

"If you're sure."

"Yeah." Ranma nodded. "Maybe We can't kill it, but I think we can keep it from runnin' around."

"Alright." The girl hesitated. "My name's Yohko. Yohko Mano."

"Ranma Saotome." Ranma nodded.

"Good luck Ranma-san." Yohko ventured.

Ranma smiled. "I make my own luck. But thanks, Yohko-chan."

Yohko nodded, smiling and saluting as she ran to the crane and jumped atop the cab, vaulting and swinging up to the apex where the girders were held...

(((((((((())))))))))

Nabiki had followed the entire battle with wide eyes, from the safest vantage point she could. Having seen Ranma in action now, the fight with Kuno in the morning was cast in an entirely new light. Ranma had enough ability to have done far, far worse in a much shorter time. The other girl was a revelation as well-she had enough ability to put her leagues and leagues above her little sister, almost on par with Ranma herself. Not to mention that sword she could summon and dispel at will.

The world was a far different place than it had been in the morning.

They were paused now, and Ranma was noticeably tired. That was mildly worrying, but moreso was the fact that after Ranma and the other girl had exchanged words, the other ran off toward the construction equipment, while Ranma herself took her new weapon, a flagpole, and advanced on the monster.

The new battle was intense-Ranma was visibly tired, but with a smaller weapon, she was moving faster, and she swarmed around the beast, harrying it with smashing swipes that didn't appear to be doing any damage.

Nabiki swallowed, debating covering her eyes, but she couldn't. Sheer reflex demanded she record every bit of the conflict...in fact, she had an idea. Fishing in her bag, she brought out her secret weapon, a tiny little digital camera, and turning the flash off, lest she distract Ranma at a critical moment, she began snapping pictures.

Ranma's head jerked skyward, and Nabiki's heart jumped up into her throat as the monster swung, and Ranma almost didn't notice. The blond girl threw herself out of the way just in time as the jagged arm tore her top. Grinning, she ignored the near miss, and leapt up onto the iron girders that made up the skeleton of the building, jumping higher and higher as the beast hesitated, confused...

A number of different things happened at once. There was sudden snap up above, and a creaking, deep metallic groan as the crane the brown haired girl had run to released it's load of iron girders, and they dropped, seemingly in slow motion at first, but gradually accelerating-

The deep booming clangs as they fell sounded like the rumbling chimes of an enormous clock, and Nabiki stopped taking pictures to clap her hands over her ears so she wouldn't be deafened. She almost didn't notice the blonde streak as Ranma jumped out from the safety of the building into the rain of girders, clutching one of them tightly and riding it down to the ground, all the while, the blue glow from before was reasserting itself, and very, very faintly encompassing the massive iron bar as well...

The girder Ranma was riding somehow managed to fall without twisting and turning like the others, plummeting to earth and slamming into it like a giant nail-at the same time impaling the beast through the chest and into the ground behind, mounting him like a massive specimen of butterfly. Ranma let out a triumphant cry, and in that moment, the rest of the girders smashed to earth around them, obscuring the blonde girl from view.

(((((((((())))))))))

"Ranma!"

"Ranma-san!"

The screams of two very alarmed girls echoed in the eerie silence that followed the deafening crash, and Nabiki and Yohko rushed to the pile of girders. Nabiki abandoned her bag and camera, and began climbing onto the pile, peering into the gaps to look for any sign that Ranma was buried, intact, hurt...SOMETHING. Yohko almost did the same, but she hesitated, grabbing her arm. "Miss, wait. If you climb up there and they shift..."

"We can't just do nothing!" Nabiki exclaimed sharply. "Ranma might be hurt, and being in there with that thing..."

"I know." Yohko replied soothingly. "Just stand back, I'll try to get to her without letting it out." Yohko took a deep breath, and held out her hand. "Sword of my soul, come forth!" In a swirl of sparkles that seemed almost too cheerful for the situation, the sword that had appeared and disappeared intermittently throughout the battle resumed it's place in Yohko's hands. The braided girl quickly went to work, carefully cutting through the outlying girders into small pieces so the two girls could move them.

It took about twenty minutes of painstaking work until they finally uncovered Ranma, ten scant feet from where the only upright girder in the pile was pinning the Magic-sucker. The blonde was bruised but mostly intact, though her clothing was shredded leaving her in the underwear Nabiki had bullied her into. Working carefully, they managed to get the unconscious girl out of the pile of metal and dragged her a few feet away.

Ranma's eyelashes fluttered and her soft red eyes took in the girls hovering over her worriedly. "Did we win?" She murmured groggily.

"Hai. You were great." Yohko encouraged, touching Ranma's hand.

Nabiki wasn't sure how to feel when Ranma's cheeks turned pink at the contact, but she pushed those feelings down deep, and coughed gently. "How do you feel? Are you hurt?"

"Jus' tired."

"Okay, just rest." Nabiki agreed, smiling softly with relief, pulling Ranma's still-damp Chinese tunic from her bag and draping it over her as a cover. "We'll worry about the cleanup."

Ranma nodded weakly, her eyes fluttering closed. Nabiki fumbled with the tattered remains of the hotpants, finding what she was looking for, and fishing the triangular medallion out of the pocket. "Bardiche, if you can do anything for him, I'd appreciate it." She murmured, pushing the medallion into Ranma's hand.

**Compliance. **

Yohko started slightly at the booming voice from the little jewelry, and looked from it to Nabiki in surprise. "What...?"

"Oh, come on. You can summon a sword from thin air, but talking gems throw you?" Nabiki replied dryly.

"Uh...I never thought of it that way." Yohko admitted. "I-"

Whatever she might have been about to say was never aired as two new arrivals chose that moment to rush into the construction site, looking around frantically. The taller of the two was a boy, black haired like Ranma, but cut short in the back, and the shaggy front part held away from his eyes with a tiger-striped yellow bandanna. The shorter was a girl, dressed like Yohko, only her green hair had a headband similar to the boy's, white and tied off to look like bunny ears in the back, and her dress was less sexy, almost like an oversized tunic instead. On seeing Yohko, she grabbed the boy's arm and dragged him over to where Ranma, Nabiki and Yohko waited, waving her arm.

"Yohko-saaaan~" She called, looking around, puzzled. "Sorry we're late, but...where is the demon?"

Yohko pointed at the pile of girders. "Hi, Azusa. The big one in the middle is pinning it to the ground. Ryoga-kun can take his time with this one."

The boy, Ryoga, stared. "How on earth did you-?"

Yohko smiled ruefully, looking down at Ranma and gesturing to her. "I only helped. She did the hard stuff."

"But how did she...?" Ryoga insisted, but Azusa tugged on his arm.

"Ryoga-kun, let's deal with that thing first, Okay?" She urged, glancing at the pile nervously.

"But I-"

"Ple~ase?" she smiled winsomely at him and he blushed, caving completely.

"All right, all right..." He muttered embarrassedly, and Azusa handed him a thermos. He took it from her, unscrewed the lid, and dumped it over his head. At once, in a rippling change that Nabiki was already well familiar with, the tall, muscular boy was replaced...

Nabiki was not an easy person to scare, but the wash of Jusenkyo passed in an instant, and Ryoga had been transformed into another of the magic-eaters, with the same horrifying armored visage and glowing mouth. The only difference was a pair of wings on it's...his? back. In contrast to the rest of the beast, the wings were delicate, and almost gem-like, reminiscent of a dragonfly. It grunted and growled at the assembled girls and then stomped off to the pile of girders, beginning to dig out the other beast.

Nabiki turned slowly toward the girl beside her, her blood feeling frozen in her veins as she a turned an utterly shocked expression on Yohko.

The braided girl winced at Nabiki's expression. "I'm sorry, I should have thought to warn you...you just get so used to it after awhile, you don't really see the cursed form, just him."

"Jusenkyo?" Nabiki asked as her mouth resumed working, though it was drier than a desert from fright.

Yohko blinked at the short haired girl. "Yes, actually. How did you-?"

Nabiki shook her head and pointed to Ranma. "-He- has been there too. I think we should talk. I have a lot of questions."

(((((((((())))))))))

"RANMA SAOTOME?"

The cleanup at the construction site had been simple, to Nabiki's relief. Ryoga's cursed form had simply uncovered the monster they had been fighting, grabbed it and sucked all the magic out of it, and it had simply fallen to pieces. Once that had been finished, they had picked up Ranma and Nabiki had led them to a private place to talk, the back room of a dry cleaning shop owned by the parents of a classmate who owed her several favors. Hot water was on the boil, and Nabiki rather reluctantly peeled off the remnants of the clothing she'd picked up for Ranma and covered the blonde with a blanket while Ranma's clothes were trying.

"You know her...him?" Yohko asked Ryoga.

"Of course I do! That's the bastard that ran out on our Man-to-man fight, and led me to Jusenkyo!" His voice caught, and he ground his teeth together as he bowed his head. "The place that cost me half of my humanity..."

Yohko just rolled her eyes, but Nabiki held up her hands, trying to deflect the irate boy's train of thought. "That doesn't really sound like him, but be that as it may, Yes, his name is Ranma Saotome. He fell into the pool of a drowned magical girl...mage, maybe? And managed to inherit her...let's call it a wand. He can still see her and talk to her through it. Maybe that's how he knew not to use magic on it. But I'm more interested in why and how you guys came to be here."

Surprisingly, it was Azusa who supplied the answer, looking up from trying to calm Ryoga's anger. "Um...well, when we found Ryoga-kun, and he explained about his cursed form, we found out he could sort of...sense when another one was nearby."

"And when he found two in one week, we kind of figured that there's an awful lot of these things, and they don't seem to care about who they kill to get to a source of magic to eat, so we've been hunting them, and with Ryoga's help, killing them, in between our regular demon hunting." Yohko added.

"I wonder if Fate-chan's friends would know what this is all about. I wish she could talk to us without Ranma." Nabiki mused.

"That's the mage that drowned in the spring he fell in?" Yohko wanted to know.

"Yes. We were talking about how to find her friends when Ranma got a testosterone rush despite that hot little body and rushed off to get himself killed." Nabiki grumbled. She shot the blonde girl a look, and stood up, picking up the kettle. Testing the water with her finger to make sure it wasn't too hot, she moved over and carefully poured it over Ranma's head.

The transformation was like watching a muscle unclench. She seemed to...relax, the soft curves of a girl swelling into the firmer lines of a boy, her hair pulling in and darkening until it re-affirmed Ranma's customary pigtail. Ranma sat up, flailing and gasping for breath, spitting water out as he looked around frantically.

"Huh? What? Where!"

Yohko sucked in a sharp little breath as Ranma awoke and transformed, her eyes widening. "Oh wow..." She murmured, biting her lip as small, burning spots of pink erupted on either cheek. Azusa looked vaguely bemused as she slid a glance at her mentor, but just smirked and didn't comment. Ryoga simply glowered,

"Easy does it, Ranma-kun." Nabiki soothed, casting a sidelong glance at Yohko as she heard the younger girl's observation under her breath. To her irritation, a small spark of jealousy danced about her interior, though it was mingled with a puzzling ambivalence as well. "Listen, he's had a long day. Why don't you swing by our dojo tomorrow, and we can have this all out properly. Maybe we can help each other."

"What about my revenge?" Ryoga protested, but was summarily ignored by all the girls, save for a not so-subtle pinch from Azusa that sent him into a sulking funk.

Nabiki nodded, and noted that the other participant in the conversation had gotten lost staring at Ranma, who had yet to notice. Strangely, she didn't feel at all offended, despite her...odd feelings around the boy. "Mano-chan?" Nabiki prompted.

Yohko started, flushing a little as she tore her attention away from Ranma's face to look at Nabiki. "In the afternoon? We're supposed to see about attending school while we're in Tokyo..."

"Sure. Where are you going to go to school?"

Yohko looked to the green haired girl.

"Yours is called Furinkan High school." Azusa supplied helpfully.

Nabiki's smile grew broad and her eyes gleamed. "I have the most extraordinary co-incidence to report." She smirked.

(((((((((())))))))))

It took awhile, but Nabiki was finally able to convince them to postpone the discussion to the next day. Her efforts were made difficult mainly by Ryoga insisting on revenge, but Nabiki promised to hear him out tomorrow as well, which made him flash a nervous look at Azusa, but she smiled sweetly and nodded, and the three new kids left the back room. At the same time, she finally got Ranma up and moving under his own power. Once they were gone, Nabiki turned over his newly clean clothes and left him to get dressed. She waited outside the door, and once he emerged, she smacked him on the arm, hard.

"What'dja do that for?" Ranma protested.

"Because you scared me, you idiot." Nabiki huffed. "Seriously, what kind of moron just charges toward an explosion without so much as a second thought? Or sticks around when there's giant, fire breathing Magic Sucker out there?"

Ranma looked completely confused, and Nabiki noticed his eyes were sliding into the space slightly past her left shoulder, then back to her as he spoke. "Ah...hm...Sorry?" He fumbled.

"Fate is coaching you, isn't she?" Nabiki accused.

"Not really." Ranma grumbled unhappily. "She says you're right, and she's mad at me too."

That managed to crack Nabiki's mood, and she managed a smile as she took Ranma's arm and led him out of the shop and onto the street, heading back to the dojo. _Well, no point in trying to get someone to school today. I hope Ryonami managed things while I was gone. _ "I like her. We need to figure out how to get her out more. Maybe she can get through to you."

"She says 'not likely-Hey!" Ranma scowled at where Nabiki assumed Fate was, then at Nabiki herself. "What was I supposed to do? Leave everything to Yohko-chan and her friends? It's a martial artist's job to protect the weak." He protested.

Nabiki raised an eyebrow at the lack of mention of Ryoga. He was supposed to be Ranma's mortal enemy, right? She'd have to ask more questions later. "Use a little common sense. I mean, you got -iron girders- dropped on that thick head of yours. What would we have done if you'd killed yourself? What would FATE have done?" She insisted.

"...Uh." Ranma opened his mouth, then closed it, stumped.

"This is all I'm saying." Nabiki went on, satisfied that she'd made her point. "If you're anything like Akane, trying to keep you from fighting is completely impossible. All I ask is that you kick your brain into gear BEFORE you charge the monster of the week."

"Of the week?" Ranma echoed blankly.

"Figure of speech." Nabiki dismissed with a wave of her hand before changing the subject. "Listen, about that deal we made...I think I've got an idea how to kick start the search for Fate's friends, and make a little money in the deal. I don't usually do this, but I'm asking you for permission to use pictures I took of your fight with that thing."

"You took pictures?" Ranma seemed honestly puzzled. "Why?"

"It's just a reflex." Nabiki replied, a trifle defensively. "But they could be useful. If I can sell them to a paper...or more likely, a tabloid, it might catch the eye of her friends."

Ranma paused, blinking and looking slightly away from Nabiki again. Now that she was looking for it, She noted that he seemed to 'zone out' to listen to Fate quite a bit. "She says it's a good idea." Ranma grinned. "She's excited, actually. Thanks."

Caught off guard, Nabiki didn't have time to suppress the blush that tinted her cheeks. It was just a compliment, dammit. Although, granted, with the way she was in social situations, she didn't get many of those. "Don't thank me yet." She huffed defensively to hide her 'moment'. "I still need your help at School."

"Eh, how bad can it be?"

Ranma did not look happy at the ominous 'Fu fu fu' of laughter that his offhand statement had elicited.


	5. Chapter 4 The Boys

Fate, Stay Ranma

Chapter 4

"The Boys"

To: 'Sato Hiroyuki' Sato_.jp

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Subject: Big Scoop!

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Big news. And I'm calling in a favor all at once. There was a full blown, I-kid-you-not monster fight in Nerima today. Can you run a story on it? I remind you of your niece's recovered cellphone with all those celebrity numbers, but only because the girl involved is a missing person, and this will save me some legwork if her family notices, and comes to me.

Do whatever you can to make it as noticeable as possible and your debt is waived. I really want to help this girl. I've enclosed pictures.

-N

[[[ ]]]

To: 'Tendo Nabiki' ice_.jp

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Subject: re: Big Scoop!

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You know, if I had any ounce of journalistic integrity whatsoever, I'd laugh in your metaphorical face, kiddo.

-H

[[[ ]]]

To: 'Sato Hiroyuki' Sato_.jp

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Subject: re: Big Scoop!

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No, if you had any ounce of journalistic integrity whatsoever, you wouldn't work for a tabloid, and I wouldn't have called you. A regular paper doesn't have the circulation I need. I want to cast as wide a net as possible with these, I've never heard of the district she called home.

-N

[[[ ]]]

To: 'Tendo Nabiki' ice_.jp

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Subject: Holy Shit

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You wound me. Seriously. Right in the heart. But these pictures are smoking, Tendo-san. She's hotter than the topless girl on page three. Seriously, the ASS on this girl! Amazing. If this is paying off a debt, sign me up. I might even get a promotion for this. I'll definitely get page one, and you'll get your wish. Her face will be scattered over the country. Hell, we'll even give you a finder's fee for the photos. Get on IM, I need some quotes from you to BS some sort of story to go with this.

-H

[[[ ]]]

Nabiki's little laptop beeped softly at her as she clicked out of the instant messaging program. A faint smile touched her lips- Hiro had been only too eager, gleeful even, to write the story. Firm promises of tens of thousands of yen, and and even more fervent promises that anyone asking about the mysterious blonde girl named 'Fate' would be put in contact with her.

All in all, it was win-win for everyone, and it was intensely productive. Still, the day was bothering her. She leaned back in her chair, looking at the laptop...but instead focused on the reflection of her face in the dark glass of the monitor. She ran her hand through her hair and let it fall again, the disheveled look suiting her mood.

It had been a really amazing day. Magic was really REAL.

Oh, of course the curses had been a big hint, but the giant monsters and the whole dark magical girl thing had driven the point home in the way that an aquatranssexual really couldn't. The curses were an amusement. What happened today-it had a gravity that changed everything.

Well, not everything. But it cast many, many things into serious doubt. Like her goals. She had been aiming to be a big fish-disdaining martial arts like her sister practiced in favor of business. Information. Snooping. A little bookwork for betting, That was what the really important people did, right? That was the only way to command her own destiny.

But apparently, she had-like many others-not had complete information. And now, if she wanted real control of her life, she needed to revisit certain things-like martial arts...and magic. If she didn't want control of her life snatched away by another rampaging monster while Ranma wasn't around, it was time to learn the rules of this other game instead of dismissing them.

The easiest way to do that was to stay friendly with Ranma. That wouldn't be hard. A bit dim, but he was a likeable sort. Sort of like Akane if she took her Ritalin. But if she was honest with herself, there was another, different problem.

She shifted her hand over to her mouse, calling up the picture folder, and opening the zip file she had sent to Hiro. Clicking the first picture, a lively action shot of Ranma in her girl form...Fate form, really, burst to life on the screen.

Blonde hair swirled behind her, the curvy, lithe form captured in the middle of a back-flip, affording the viewer a view of both her infectious, gleeful grin-as well as the rather spectacular backside Hiro had been so enthused about.

"Dat ass indeed." The brunette girl muttered softly to herself, heat rising into her cheeks as she traced the curves of Ranma-chan with her eyes.

Nabiki lost track of how long she stared at the photo, but she began to notice the burning in her cheeks easing downward into her chest, warmth suffusing her bust as the peaks of her bosom tingled, and she gasped, slamming the laptop closed and banging her forehead lightly against the case.

"This is NOT happening to me."

[[[ ]]]

"Seriously, what are you going to do about Kuno? He's already up and around, even though his jaw is wired shut."

Bright and early the next morning, Nabiki had opted to join them on the walk to school once again, and Akane was clearly surprised, and more than a little suspicious, but had managed to reign in her misandric comments for the morning, apparently granting Ranma limited amnesty, given that Nabiki seemed to get along with him.

"Uh." Ranma hedged, flushing. "I got a little carried away, huh." He glanced off to the side, looking at nothing for a moment, then back at Akane. "Sorry?"

Akane gave him a startled look. "What are you apologizing for?"

"I shouldn't have butted in, I guess? It's just that weird lightning made something...um...snap."

Akane blinked. Repeatedly.

Ranma blinked at her blinking, and tentatively waved his hands in front of her eyes. "Moshi Moshi?"

Akane frowned, but her expression softened, irritation leeching out of her entirely, and Nabiki marveled wondering if she'd ever seen Akane that relaxed around non-family. "Sorry. Thank you for apologizing. But you don't have to. You're practically a folk hero in school now. I just don't like people butting in on my fights."

"Oh. Okay, I get that." Ranma replied instantly. "But shouldn't a girl-" He began, but another glance sideways had him cutting off what he was going to say, and he stared off into space again for moment, and actually looked taken aback, which made Nabiki snicker, and Akane look on in confusion, and a little suspicious irritation.

"Shouldn't a girl what?" Akane demanded testily.

"Um..." Ranma's eyes shifted to Akane, and then to empty space. Then he looked at her again, panicking a little at the fire in the tomboyish girl's eyes. "Not stoop to their level?" He tried, slowly, and Nabiki had to cover her mouth at the painfully obvious prompting from Fate, now that she knew what to look for. "Nabiki explained some of what you go through yesterday after we got home. If you let them do this every day, it might validate them doing the mob thing, and that's not honorable...boy...or girl." He finished talking, and gave Akane a hesitant look. It was all Nabiki could do to keep from an attack of the giggles at the 'is she buying this?' expression the boy wore.

Without Nabiki's inside knowledge, Akane took the words at face value, and Ranma got a surprisingly sunny smile from the youngest Tendo for his troubles. "I suppose not, but I haven't lost yet, and it helps me keep in shape. Maybe when it gets to be more than I can handle I'll look for ways to stop it." She offered, shrugging. She walked another few steps, looking at Ranma thoughtfully.

"You know, I don't much like boys. For obvious reasons." Akane began, gesturing at the upcoming schoolyard with a bob of her head. "But even if you're a little rough, you're surprisingly tolerable. Even if I'm not looking for the marriage our fathers want. I've decided you'll be an honorary girl."

Ranma choked. "What th-" He began, a scowl beginning to darken his face, and Akane giggled, darting in front of him and sticking out her tongue, and Ranma was suddenly startled at her good humor.

"It's a compliment. Compliment!" She assured him. "Would you want me to lump you in with them?" She asked, gesturing to the schoolyard, and the massing boys, visible now in a shapeless mob, waiting for her arrival.

"Well, no, but I'm a guy-!" Ranma began angrily, and Akane smiled.

"Relax, Ranma. Nabiki, calm your boyfriend down while I go deal with the mob." Akane stuck out her tongue again, and darted off, her jumper fluttering in the breeze of her passage.

"Boy-!"

"Boyfr-argh. Beaten to the last word by my little sister. I may never live this down." Nabiki griped, frowning at Akane's retreating back.

Ranma glanced nervously at Nabiki, his cheeks red. "..."

"Just relax, Saotome. No need to get all fired up yet. We've got other things to worry about than Akane suddenly warming up to you. Just be happy she didn't call you my girlfriend." Nabiki's cheeks warmed suddenly as the words tripped past her lips, but only slightly. Her control was good enough Ranma didn't seem to notice. She wished she could see Fate to see if the invisible girl noticed, but that would bring problems of it's own.

"Yeah. When do we start looking for Fate-chan's family?" Ranma asked pensively, apparently reluctantly letting the matter drop.

"Already started. Sent the pictures off last night. A pretty famous tabloid owes me a favor. You might get recognized in your girl form because of it, though." She warned.

Ranma looked duly impressed, though her statement that he might be recognized gave him pause. "Recognized how, exactly?"

"I took some pictures of the fight yesterday, remember? With any luck, by the end of this week, the new issue of the Daily News will be out with you on the cover. Which means people might identify you from it."

"Hey, nothin' wrong with bein' even more famous. Oh, an' Fate-chan says thanks." Ranma commented cheerfully. Nabiki smirked.

"She's very welcome. Just remember you said that. Being famous means different things for girls." She commented cryptically.

They came to the school gates before Ranma could inquire as to Nabiki's meaning, and they had to step over the bodies of the morning mob. Ranma inspected them with a critical eye, whereas Nabiki just made a face, stepping over a boy from her own class. The downed boy's eyes fluttered just as she stepped over him, and his eyes widened at the clear view up her uniform skirt-before he was sent back to dreamland from an idle swat of Ranma's foot.

Nabiki gave the boy a surprised look, and a rare smile. "Thanks."

Ranma flushed. "No big thing." He mumbled, looking away. "I think something's on your sister's mind...They shouldn't be picking themselves up this quickly."

Nabiki hummed, glancing around the courtyard. "She's probably wondering where Kuno is. I don't see him in the pile."

"Would he really be here, broken jaw and everything?"

"Yes." She said, simply.

"Are all the guys that go ta this school nuts?"

Nabiki smirked...and it was an expression entirely devoid of anything resembling genuine amusement. "Welcome to Furinkan, Ranma Saotome."

[[[ ]]]

They were late for school. And as usual, it was HIS fault again.

"Look, I said I was sorry!"

She didn't reply. It was probably petty, but he irked the daylights out of her. It wasn't that he wasn't up to her standards...he was quite cute, and had a fantastic body...but had unfortunately been claimed by Azusa. They were only in first year of high school, so unfortunately, Azusa wasn't at all too young for him, but it made some of his habits, ones that she could have easily overlooked if she had gotten to him first, incredibly annoying.

Like his sense of direction. She needed to pull him back on course at least four times on their way from dropping Azusa off at the middle school. She sighed. "Just...don't worry about it. Do you have the phone?" Yohko Mano looked at Ryoga Hibiki severely.

He nodded meekly, and and she relented. "I'm serious about this-when you get lost again, stop moving and call us, okay? I enjoyed the vacation, but it nearly broke us. We're not coming to Seoul to pick you up again, got it?"

His face burned with embarrassment, and she wrung a few drops of petty satisfaction from that, and immediately felt bad about it. She didn't want to drive him away...but she wanted a boyfriend of her own SO badly...

The face of the boy they'd met the previous day sprang to mind, and suddenly she was looking forward to school again. Their new allies went to school here. Of course, there was a risk that the new girl...Nabiki? Had a claim already. But there was hope! And that was all too rare for the 108th generation Devil Hunter, Yohko.

As cheering up went, another potential boyfriend was a pretty good way to do it, and she finally smiled. "Look, there it is. And the gates are still open! You're forgiven. Now, RUN!"

The last little jog turned into a full on sprint as the school gates began to close, but Yohko and-miracle of miracles-Ryoga darted through through without incident. Without warning, though, Yoko was halted mid-stride as the lost idiot grabbed her collar, almost yanking her off her feet and certainly almost choking.

"What are you DOING?" She snapped at him. "Didn't I tell you we were late?" She glared, rubbing her offended neck.

"Uh...You were going to fall." The boy offered uncertainly, pointing at the ground.

"I was...Uh..." Yohko paused, looking around. Prone bodies of numerous boys dressed in the respective uniforms of sports...no, wait, there was one dressed in a lab coat...and another dressed in a leisure suit...and yet another in a Pikachu costume. "What happened here?"

"They're all still breathing." Ryoga reported, checking the nearest one. Just then, another student poked his head out of the door, calling to them.

"Yo~! New kids! Better get a move on, and let the nurse take care of them! Another minute and you'll be late!"

The head disappeared before they could question him, and Yohko stared in shock. "What kind of a school IS this?"

[[[ ]]]

The usual routine for transfer students was kind of tedious, and Yohko was a little annoyed by the whole thing. She wondered what everyone in her class in Yokohama was doing right now, and wistfully looked forward to the end of this whole incident so she could transfer back.

Maybe. If things went well, maybe she could stay up here with Ranma. That would make the whole move worth it. She smiled to herself, sidetracking her morose thoughts with a pleasant daydream about the handsome boy sweeping her off her feet, and drawing her in for a kiss, and-the daydream suddenly sidetracked itself into an image of her kissing the voluptuous blonde Ranma turned into.

That shook her out of the daydream.

Did it matter so much? Perhaps not. Being who she was, it seemed like there was a secondary bloodline curse...this one on her love life. One potential boyfriend lost to Reiko, soul-sucking queen of the damned, one potential boyfriend tried to rape her under mind control, another years and years in the past, and another stolen out from under her by Ayako Mano, her rogue cousin. And just to make sure it wasn't too boring, Ayako had used mind control to do it.

Being a Devil Hunter was suffering.

Still, maybe a boyfriend that was a part time girlfriend was just the ticket to get out from under her rotten string of luck? After all, she had occasionally...sought 'comfort' from Chi when she got too lonely, so she couldn't honestly say the pretty blonde girl was a turn off...

"Uh...Yohko-san? Is something the matter? You're all red."

"Gah!" Yohko jumped, blushing furiously and spinning to face her assailant-Oh. It was HIM. "Ryoga, why are you..." She began testily.

"You told me to follow you when I wasn't sure where to go." He pointed out. "It's lunch time."

"Already?" She blinked, realizing that she'd gotten up and left the classroom without thinking about it, and narrowed her eyes at him. If she was picking up his 'lost' habit, cute or not, he was going to get such a slap.

"Already." The third voice cut in, despite the crowd of students moving around them, and Yohko and Ryoga both jumped...to see Ranma Saotome grinning at the pair of them. "Yo."

"Ranma-san!" Yohko perked up instantly, happy thoughts of big muscles overriding her constant frustration of late. The boy in question nodded affably.

"Hiya. I never got a chance to thank ya yesterday for the assist-" Ranma began, but Ryoga cut him off, beginning that old rant again...

"You bastard, I waited for three-OW!"

Yohko kept her smile firmly in place while she lifted her foot after stomping on Ryoga's to shut him up. "I was glad to help...and to have help. The last three we could only hold off while Ryoga-kun finished them off."

"Three?" Ranma blinked, startled and more than a little impressed. He glanced off to the side, and Yohko wondered what he was doing before she remembered suddenly Nabiki had told them about the previous magical girl following him as a Ghost. "Let's go see Nabiki. She sent me to find you guys so we could finish the talk we were havin' yesterday."

"Absolutely!" Yohko agreed winsomely, moving in a little closer, smiling at him. "Lead the way." She resisted the urge to take his arm-much as she desperately wanted to-because she didn't want to offend their new friends by diving in before she understood the situation. She might have almost no pride when it came to finally getting a boyfriend, but there were still a few things she wouldn't do...like steal one.

In what Yohko considered a very hopeful sign, Ranma blushed as she moved closer, and nodded "Alright, she's waiting out by the trees..." He began, leading them off. Ryoga followed along behind, muttering under his breath.

[[[ ]]]

Ranma was a little relieved when Nabiki assumed the role of moderator for the meeting-despite Fate-chan's assistance, he wasn't really swift when it came to picking up on social cues. Truth be told, he was still trying to figure out who the boy with Yohko was. The name was vaguely familiar, but he was reasonably certain he'd remember why he seemed so upset. He carried around most of the memories of less-than-decent things they'd done while on their training trip like a weight around his neck.

"Pay attention." Fate whispered as his attention started drift while he shuffled through his memories, looking for something relevant to the cranky boy sitting with them. Abashed, Ranma nodded, straightening up in time to catch Yohko's rundown on her background, being trained since she was young to be a devil hunter, and her partner...He was intrigued at that. He was naturally the best, but maybe she would be up for a match? His eyes slid over to the ghostly blonde girl beside him, marveling that that thought even occurred to him. It had to be her influence. Well, and the trouble with the Amazons. If that didn't teach you to take a girl fighter seriously, nothing would.

Yohko went on, gesturing to the boy with her. "...And this is Ryoga. We met him when the first of the Eaters showed up, and he and Azusa hit it off, and we've been looking after him ever since." Ryoga winced and blushed at the description, but didn't contest it.

"...Looking after?" Nabiki asked, interested.

"Well, there's his Jusenkyo curse, but we also keep track of him. He gets lost fairly easily-"

Ranma stiffened, that bit of information the final piece of the puzzle. He sat bolt upright and smacked his fist into his hand. "Ryoga Hibiki!" He exclaimed.

That got the attention of all the girls present, and Ryoga scowled. "You finally remember-?"

"Yeah! How ya doin', man? It's been ages!" Ranma cheered, holding out a hand for a handshake, and Ryoga swatted it away. The pigtailed boy looked puzzled for a moment, then snapped his fingers. "Right, right. Be right back." He rolled to his feet and took off at a dead run, leaving two bewildered girls behind, and one angry boy.

Fortunately, the items were easily located within the school, and he ran back out to the assembled group with his arms full. Beside him, Fate gave the items a bemused look as he finished a quick explanation of why he needed them.

"...Seriously?" She gave him a skeptical look. "No one is that...Seriously?" She repeated, flabbergasted.

"Yup. I was kind of a jerk, so this is the least I can do." Ranma affirmed.

"While I definitely want to encourage that kind of self awareness when you interact with other people, and I'm delighted you understand why that was annoying, I'm not really sure he doesn't bear some responsibility. Who picks a fight over bread?" Fate shook her head. "I'm beginning to understand how you turned out the way you did...you didn't really ever interact with any normal people until Nabiki-chan came into your life, did you?"

Ranma hedged. "I feel like there was at least one...way back when I was little, I had a normal little buddy."

Fate smiled faintly. "Well, that's something, at least..."

Right about then, the boy and his ethereal companion returned to the group, and Ranma walked right up to Ryoga and deposited the pile of school breads at on his lap. "There ya go. Every last one."

"What...?" The girls were all caught in a state of confusion, but Ryoga simply glared at the pigtailed boy.

Ranma averted his attention to the girls. "The short version is, Ryoga an' I went to school together in Junior High. Pops wasn't too keen on a real education, but he said learning how to learn would keep me sharp. Ryoga and I were buddies in school, but Lunchtime was kinda a free for all. And I kept winning the fights for bread. Curry bread, soba bread...and a bunch more. It's all there. I wasn't very nice about it."

Nabiki eyed the pile. "While I think it's a little childish, these sorts of things add up, I guess."

Finally, Ryoga couldn't keep still, and he angrily swatted the pile of bread away, rolling to his feet with a snarl.

"What, you want more? Isn't that a little greedy?" Ranma blinked.

"You think this is about BREAD?" Ryoga demanded furiously. "Why did you run out on our man to man fight?"

Nabiki and Yohko were watching the proceedings with a skeptical eye, but Ryoga's declaration garnered some sympathy from both girls, and they began to nod along with the lost boy. Ranma's next words stopped them short, though.

"Uh...Ryoga, I waited for you in that abandoned lot for THREE DAYS."

"What." Nabiki interjected flatly, her nodding ceasing, and she gave Ryoga a sharp look, but the boy with the bandanna wasn't even looking at anyone but Ranma now.

"Oh gods." Yohko groaned, smacking her face in her hand. "Sadly, this is not outside the realm of possibility."

"Oh, sure, but when I arrived on the fourth day, you'd run off with your father to China!"

"I didn't have a lot of options, man! I passed out waiting for you and the old man dragged me off!"

"But if that wasn't bad enough, I followed you all the way to China! You cost me my humanity, Ranma!" Ryoga was in no mood to hold back any more, and he launched a punch at Ranma that the other boy twisted to avoid, the blow skimming the tip of his nose with it's passage.

The memory of Jusenkyo still fresh in his mind, even Ranma Saotome needed no help to connect the dots, but he was still caught off-guard by the assault. He was honestly too startled by the implications of the statement to fight back, and horrified by the spurious accusation and the sneaking suspicion it might be true, all he could do was dodge the furious blows, the words 'your fault' echoed over and over in his ears.

Nabiki watched the progress of the fight with disgust, privately wanting Ranma to smack some sense into the idiot, but when he failed to launch a counterattack, she blinked. The expression on his face was honestly appalled. That was endearing in it's way, but horrifically dense, and she couldn't rely on Fate to get through to him while the bigger of the two idiots was energetically trying to take his head off.

"Something's wrong. Can you get between them? I think Ranma took Ryoga a little more seriously that he deserves."

Yohko nodded in agreement with Nabiki's assessment, but hedged at the idea of actually doing it. "This is going to be tricky. He's...ridiculously strong." She murmured. "And stubborn."

Nabiki glanced at the students around them, grimacing. People were starting to take note of a martial arts battle, and that meant she'd be expected to take odds...and the idea of favoring Ryoga was surprisingly distasteful. "Can you use your magic trick to surprise them into stopping?"

Yohko blinked. "I can, but..." She hedged, glancing around, nervously.

"If you do it -now- I can spin it so no one believes what it really is, but the closer they get..." Nabiki offered, then smiled. "You can trust me. I won't hang you out to dry. You're still useful to keeping Ranma-chan in one piece."

Yohko gave Nabiki a dour look, but the mercenary reasoning made more sense to her than an warm and fuzzy tale she could have spun.

With a short chant, and a blazing transformation, Nabiki was left staring at Yohko's retreating back. "No wonder she didn't want anyone to watch."

[[[ ]]]

Ranma and Ryoga were both taken by surprise as the dark red shape slammed to the earth between them, but they dodged handily, and both boys blinked as Yohko stood up, her arms held straight out to block either boy from getting at the other. She started with a winsome smile at the pigtailed boy. "I'm sorry about all this, Ranma-san."

"Yohko!" Ryoga found enough nerve to snap at the brunette. "A woman has no place in a man to man fight-" Yohko dropped her head, and began to shake with fury, and Ryoga had the sense that he had taken a step too far. "Wait, I meant that this is a challenge mat-"

"Oh, I know what you meant." Yohko looked up and smiled at Ryoga. There was no humor in the expression at all. "And this isn't a challenge match. Even I know how those go. You offer a challenge, he accepts, you fight. You took a swing at him like a street thug...a -chauvinistic- thug at that. You're embarrassing us and yourself, and don't think Azusa isn't going to hear ALL about this." She snapped.

"Wait...wait, there's no need to go that far-" Ryoga pleaded.

Yohko just smiled wider.

[[[ ]]]

Watching the whole scene, on a level no one could see save for one (and that 'one' was currently occupied) The blonde magical girl known as Fate Testarossa was gaping in frank amazement at one Yohko Mano. Or more specifically, at the devil hunting ring on her hand.

Nabiki was currently playing it off as fancy martial arts skill to the gathered students, but Fate knew better. That was magic. And not just any magic, either. It was old...impossibly old, older than she had ever seen, but even so, there were telltale signs of Mid Childan power and technique in that transformation. The output now that the device was active was so low as to render the signs of Mid Childa almost invisible, but she had definitely seen it. How was that even possible?

"Yuuno would love this."

[[[ ]]]

There was a small city in central Japan. In this small city, there was a little street. On this street, there was a house. Inside this house, there was a family. This was not your ordinary family of a father and a mother, and two point five children.

Within this house, a young girl of seventeen held absolute dominion. Not because she lived alone, as was increasingly common in some places, or with all of her younger sisters...in fact, on surface appearances alone, Hayate Yagami was the second youngest occupant of the house. In actual age, by FAR the youngest. Yet everyone in the house hung on her every word, and especially in the previous year, had become protective of her to the point of zealotry.

Said girl sighed inwardly, running a hand along the wall as she walked to the living area. Walking was a fairly new development for her, she who had spent her formative years in a wheelchair, but she felt guilty for enjoying it now...reveling in such a mundane act seemed so wrong after all they'd been through.

Vita looked up from the book she was working on as Hayate entered the kitchen and smiled. The little redheaded girl was less boisterous, these days. Which was like saying the Pacific Ocean was 'less deep', but the point held. In the early days, before she got out of the wheelchair, little Vita was like a fire, flitting from place to place, and always burning on some level or another.

After Nanoha's accident, though, she'd become subdued. Calmer. And yet, somehow fiercer. She'd taken the accident personally, and was determined not to see it happen again. But somehow, it did. Only worse.

Fate Testarossa had vanished completely almost one year ago to the day. Losing a friend had hurt Hayate deeply, but Fate and Nanoha were connected in a way even Hayate, one of their closest friends, could not understand. And shortly after the loss had become official, and they were forced to address the possibility that the quiet, serene girl was dead. And as soon as that happened, Nanoha, the ever-positive, sunny faced brunette had slowly begun to withdraw. No one knew what to say or do, but the loss was destroying her almost as surely as her accident nearly had.

Vita's ferocity had come to bear full force, and the tiny redhead had teamed up with Hayate as well as Arisa and Suzuka, and the four of them had fairly bullied Nanoha into continuing her life. There were promising signs, a smile, a laugh, but they were becoming rarer and rarer. They were losing Nanoha to herself.

And it was wearing them down.

Zaphira stood up from where he was curled around Vita's chair and padded over to Hayate, his claws clicking on the kitchen's linoleum floor. Hayate smiled and crouched down to his level, hugging the big blue wolf, and nuzzling his fur as she lingered. The big man was ever-present now in his canine form, even when she was at school, though she supposed he didn't think she noticed.

It was a little worrying, but trying to dissuade her loyal knights from trying to protect her to look after themselves tended to be a useless effort, so she made sure to spoil them as best she could. If she was honest, a hole might open up in her heart like one had in Nanoha's, if someone took her Knights.

"Signum?" She asked Vita quietly, stroking Zaphira's fur. It was almost hilariously luxurious for such a strong animal, but she liked it that way, and because she did, he did.

"Still practicing. She said to tell you she'd be home before dinner."

Nodding, Hayate moved to the stove to begin preparations for the evening meal. Zaphira followed, curling up on the floor close by, but staying out from underfoot. As she worked, she reflected that Signum was probably the second most personally injured by Fate's passing. She spent time alone, working out her anger and grief in private. It was probably the most healthy way to deal out of all of them, except Signum had become rather more grave over the past year, and that was vexing to Hayate. Signum had just begun to really, earnestly smile before everything and now...Argh.

Frowning into the stew pot, Hayate blinked, as she'd missed someone in musing on her family. But to be fair,

"Shamal?"

Wait, she hadn't thought that, that was Vita's voice. Before she could even act on the thought, the door slammed open, and the final member of the family, a delicately pretty blonde woman rushed into the house, spilling groceries out of her bag as she ran, looking not at all delicately pretty, but rather wild-eyed and flushed-as If she had sprinted all the way home from grocery shopping.

The same shopping that was now decorating the floor.

"Shamal?" Hayate blurted, shocked, staring at the new arrival, then at the groceries spilling over the floor. She had never seen this side of the older woman before.

"Hayate-chan!" Shamal's hair was a mess, her dress was askew, but she took no notice-another clue that the fastidious knight of the lake had something of serious import to say. "Have you seen the latest 'Nippon Daily News'?"

"..."

"You're kidding, right? You ran in here and dropped everything you were carrying to wave that rag in Hayate's face? You need to get a handle on your tabloid fetish, Shamal." Vita provided commentary where Hayate was too shocked speechless to even comment on the absurdity of the situation.

To both of their surprise, Shamal slammed an open hand down on the counter, the loud report startling everyone into silence, and she held up the magazine cover so that the pair of them could see it. The words were large and eye catching. 'YOU CAN'T FIGHT FATE' was the headline, and Hayate felt a pang, given the reference, and then her eyes dropped down to the picture with the headline, and her heart stopped.

A blonde girl of approximately her age, brandishing a street sign like a staff, facing down a hideously ugly monster that looked like a cross between an ant and lava rock.

"That can't be..." She breathed, and glanced over at Vita to see if she saw the same thing Hayate did.

The firey-haired little girl looked as though someone had taken a two-by-four and smacked her square between the eyes. "I don't believe it. There's no way."

"Believe it." Shamal wore a triumphant smirk as she now held Vita, Zaphira and Hayate's attention firmly. "I read the article, she's lost and can't remember how to get home."

Wonder in her eyes, Hayate touched the magazine as though she was afraid it was a hallucination. "Is this real?"

"It really is, Hayate-chan." Shamal beamed, hugging her family tightly. "Fate is alive!"

– – – – –

Author's notes: Well, this took entirely too long, but here it is. No excuses this time. Honestly, I'm not well in the head, and one of the ways this manifests is completely despising my own writing. So these things take time because I can barely stand to look at what I've already written, and I find more and more excuses to put it off.

Quite honestly, the only reason this has even seen the light of day is because when I did put up a page or two at Delphi, the few people hanging around there were positive and encouraging enough to motivate me in spite of this. So, I'd like to give a shout out to **PCHeintz72****, ****Cyber One**** , ****terrish****, ****sopchoppy**and **Nanya4**, who not only politely pushed me to keep going but also provided ideas and tidbits of background that were invaluable. In fact, Shamal's role in the final scene was Nanya4's idea. Thanks, Guys. And to those of you who took the time to post a review here on , rest assured, each and every one of you managed to make me start thinking about writing more. Thanks.


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